It's Always Darkest (Before The Dawn)
by mihrsuri
Summary: Anne, Henry & Thomas - 1536 and the years beyond. A very loose sequel to my Rewrite The Stars OT3 fic.
1. Shake It Out

**Authors Note:** (CN: this story contains references to child abuse (physical and sexual) and trauma - if you need more specific warnings it is totally fine to message me and I can give more details)

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March 1536

"Your majesty, I really must leave" Tom says and any formality is swept away by the fact he is resting his head against Henry's chest and while Anne is a sleeping presence on Henry's other side one of her hands is firmly twined with Toms. "It is to carry out your orders after all" he says and attempts to sit up, before Henry pulls him back down for a kiss.

"I think you can stay a little longer, my love. In fact I think the Queen and I really cannot spare you" Henry kisses Tom again, softly and reverently, treasuring the other mans soft smile that is only for him and Anne.

"We need you in our arms and our bed, my raven. Our raven. I do not wish you to leave"

Anne wakes, smiling. "I have to agree with Henry - I do not think we can do without you" and she trails her hand up Toms arm and across his chest in a way to makes Henry breathless at how beautiful they are and that they are his.

They all know of course, that Thomas must go - there is no one else as able in such matters but it does not mean they have to like it or that they cannot keep him a little longer.

"Your…" Thomas starts to say and then stops with a laugh. "Anne, Henry - unfortunately I must for my Lord Norfolk would be even more wroth with me than usual if I delayed his departure"

"Let him wait, for I say this is much more important" is what Henry says but it is Anne's "It will do my uncle good to have to wait for once" that draws out Toms laughter as Anne draws him to her.

(They do end up making Norfolk late and he is indeed most wroth, barely mollified by Thomas explanation that his majesty had detained him on unexpected business. Ralph Sadler, who is being taken along for the expedition, barely manages not to laugh aloud).

May 19 1536

Anne's son is born at just past eight in the morning at the same time that, in another world, she would have left it. There are times, during the labour that she feels she is dying, as short as it is - worn out from the pain and the months of worry and sickness leading up to it.

She has her sister and her ladies and she is so glad for them but...she wants Tom to hold her hand and Henry too, despite everything.

Anne knows he is a son immediately after she slumps back on the pillows, utterly exhausted because Mary lets her know delightedly but Anne feels she would have known regardless - the elation in her ladies eyes is all she needs to see to know.

She wants to hold her baby immediately and demands him as her ladies fill a bathtub for her to wash and so her son is laid in her arms.

He is the image of Henry and no one can deny that - from the smattering of red brown hair, to his nose and the shape of his curious brown eyes and Anne is overwhelmed with love, just as she was with Elizabeth.

(Anne fancies too that there is something of Tom in this tiny new prince - something that can only grow as he grows but started with the love his parents shared blooming outwards).

She wants Tom there and of course he cannot be - not now, not immediately but Anne wants him there, wants her raven to see the child he has helped live. She wants Tom but she can't so Anne bites down on her impatience and submits to letting her ladies wash her and her son while the bed linens are changed and the bed remade and finally, her son is returned to her arms as her sister rebraids her hair.

And Anne waits.

Henry comes to Anne's rooms at a run, barely stopping to acknowledge any of the congratulations offered to him. He only wants to see their child. Their son. But at the door he hesitates a moment, until Anne beckons him forward with a wide smile.

"Henry, come and meet your son" she says and Henry feels he is in a dream, almost. Until he looks down at his newest child.

The little prince is clearly a robust healthy baby, (Henry thinks he is already taking notice of the world) and he is the image of Henry entirely and Henry wants to weep for the gifts the lord has given him and the realm. For the gifts that Anne has given him, that Tom has given him. They are truly his and truly his blessings, his dark haired loves.

Looking into the baby prince's eyes Henry considers names. He had thought to name his first son after himself once, but now it seems ill luck. Perhaps Edward, but that does not seem right either so...

"Thomas" Anne says firmly, responding to the question in his eyes. And then, in a whisper meant only for the two of them "He should be Thomas, for our raven." and Henry entirely agrees. Little Prince Tommy. Thomas, Prince of Wales. King Thomas The First. For the saint, for Anne's father is what they will say. Perhaps to family they will say 'for our trusted counsellor and the princes godfather' and they will all be true. For our love, is what they will say to Tom.

Thomas Cromwell looks down at his namesake, at the future king of England and the tears in his eyes are not of those things but of joy as...he feels a father to a new child, for all that he has no ties to this little one by blood.

("He is as much yours as Anne's and mine, love" Henry had said. "Come and see your son, my heart" Anne had said with a smile).

All three of them share a bed that night, simply holding each other as the festivities continue outside Anne's chambers and their son sleeps peacefully and safely.


	2. I Can See No Way

Jane's brothers are less angry than she thought they would be, when they come to her after the news that the King has a son has travelled to them. Less angered than they were when they discovered she had lain with the King.

"He is still fond of Jane after all - and if she cannot be Queen then she can still do the family good as a mistress" is what Edward says. "That's if he does not throw her away and leave us with nothing" is what Thomas says and it hurts Jane, that her brothers do not ask after her. Not at all. She is merely the vehicle for their families advancement, not a sister who should be looked after.

Henry does not come to her. She had not expected him to, not those first few days but he does not come at all and the whispers of the courtiers are cruel but she tries not to weep. It is hard - Jane only wants to be a good and obedient daughter to her family. She never wanted to hurt anyone.

It pained her, how cruel Henry was to Queen Anne, even as he showered Jane with love. It pained her that her love meant anothers pain.

"That bitch nearly killed a Prince of England" a courtier whispers loud enough for her to hear and Jane wants to die of shame and misery. She had never, never in a thousand years wanted that.

Someone rips her bed linens to shreds and it's Mary Boleyn, now Stafford who happens to hear her tears. And Mary does not scorn her - Mary stays to help her.

"Why are you being so kind to me, of all people" she asks Mary, as they both clean up the mess of Jane's bed because, she doesn't understand at all. This is Queen Anne sister, after all. And Mary puts her arms around Jane and smiles, sadly.

"Because, because I was you, Jane, once upon a time. "

"But...but I nearly killed your sisters child"

"Jane, Jane no. " Mary says and the conviction in her voice shakes Jane because, how can it be. How can Mary say that. "It was the King who sought out a mistress. It was the King who was cruel to Anne. "

Mary shakes her head at Jane's protestations but she does it gently, softly. "Jane...I was a Kings mistress, in France. I fell in love - I would have done anything for him, anything for a smile and to make him happy. And there were cruel whispers, cruel words and yet...the Queen was kind to me. And a part of me hated her for that, I admit"

"I tried not to think about Her Majesty" Jane finds herself saying "I tell myself...I tell myself it cannot be a sin, not if the King wishes it. Not if the King loves me but, it pained me that Her Majesty was kind."

Marys arms are warm around her and for the first time in a long while Jane feels safe.

"Lady Jane, I have a proposal for you - I find I am in need of a lady in waiting for my household. Would you be that lady?"

Jane wants to say, surely I should ask His Majesty, surely he will want me to stay with him but she finds herself saying yes to Mary despite it all. At least she will have something that is hers, after all.

Edward knows that it is over long before the King tells Jane. He could see the King losing interest in his sister since the joust - he had kept Jane for longer than Edward would have thought after that but he could see that Henry was not as enamoured as he had been. And now, after the King has a son and seems to wish to return to being a loving husband to his wife? It is over and Jane is no longer needed. Edward is disappointed but he knows that he, at least, still has a seat on the privy council. It may have been as a result of the Kings love for his sister but he has retained it through his own skills and that is no small thing.

He might wish that Anne had lost her child and Jane could have become Queen. He might wish that Jane had kept the Kings love and thus more favours to her family could have occurred but it is not to be and Edward knows that there is no point wasting time on what might have been.

Thomas Seymour has a different view. He feels cheated of what he is owed, angry at the mockery of the court who might have bowed to the Seymour family and he is eager to avenge these slights. And so he looks for another way to power. He finds one soon enough, in an Earl newly returned to court.

August 1536

His nightmares remain with him, they always have, but they are silent ones now. His loves presence is a balm but not a cure. Thomas is just thankful that he no longer screams himself awake, as he once did for that is much harder to explain and...he cannot. He cannot bear the shame of it, of speaking the words out loud.

There was a man. As a child he only knew he was higher than he - as a grown man Thomas Cromwell can see he was a noble. All he knew then though was that his mother was dead and his father had given him over to the man. He had silk sheets and more than enough food to eat and he would rather be back in Putney, scrambling for bread.

There was another man. A scholar. A kind man. Too kind (Thomas had never told him about either his father or the noble - indeed he had hidden it for the scholar was old and frail and the thought of such a good man being hurt on his behalf had horrified his child self). He was Thomas' first tutor who had taught him more than the basics of reading and writing and numbers. He had given him Latin. Given him languages and history and books and so much more.

(Thomas Cromwell will remember Master Gregory his whole life - indeed he names his oldest son for the man who changed his life).

The man who bought him let him keep going to school because it amused him to have a 'beautiful gutter rut who can speak pretty Greek and Latin'

Thomas doesn't give the man a name in his thoughts because somehow, he feels like it might conjure him. The man walks from his nightmares and into his world regardless, as it turns out.

His name is John, now an Earl with the death of his older brother and newly returned to the court and for all that Thomas Cromwell is a peer of the realm, Lord Chancellor of England, beloved of the King and Queen suddenly he is a ten year old child again.


	3. And Every Demon

He cannot take a breath it seems. Thomas can feel his body ache, as it would during an illness and suddenly everything is too close, too much and presses down upon him just as...he can suddenly see the silk bed sheets of that London House. Thomas does not remember how he left the room, only that somehow, he managed it without attracting notice. He does not remember how he got to a deserted room only that suddenly he is leaning his head against the cool stone of a table and is desperately, hopelessly trying to come back to himself.

You are in the Palace. You are not in London. This is not then. This is the stone of a table, not the silk of those bed sheets. Your hands are your own, not his. In the end he takes to naming the colours of the room, slowly and carefully, coming somewhat back to himself. It is at the end of the second recitation that the Earl comes into the room and the recitation shatters into pieces in his mind and he is back, back tangled in those sheets and the voice is in his ears is there again.

"My beautiful gutter rat - haven't you risen high - tell me, did you ever tell his majesty how you got there?"

Having his hands on Thomas again is glorious. John has him against the wall of the chamber they are in, one hand firmly on his wrist and the other in the hair that is still curly but has been better tamed now. Unlike Thomas, who ran. Who forgot who he belonged to and it seems, has risen far far higher than he ever should have done.

John, newly Earl of Norwich had not come to court thinking to find his errant possession for he had not thought that the 'base born churl' who Norfolk cursed could possibly have been the same person. There were after all a great multitude of men named Thomas and an even number of those carried the name Cromwell and he had not thought his gutter rat would claw his way up to this point. Not until Norfolk had described him and then, oh then John had known.

He had considered merely abducting the man on his way home one day but there was a complication it seemed. The King not only valued Cromwells skills but also took him into his confidence and friendship and thus, John could not simply spirit his property away for the King would undoubtedly look for him and that? That would certainly spoil the matter entirely and thus, a new stratagem was required.

That centered on the simple fact that King Henry, the eighth of his name, was known to be magnificent in his anger and rousing that anger was easy enough to do - play to his jealousy, to his whims and the fact that once his majesty turned against a person he would do so utterly and completely. Frankly, John was amazed that Thomas had lasted as long in his friendship with his King as he had, considering all that Norfolk and others had told him of court. What was especially interesting was that Thomas was known to be a friend of the Queen and at this, John smirked. It would be easy enough to make the king jealous, to say 'look at the way Master Cromwell looks at your wife' once he had directed the Kings mind in the right way.

And then he'd arrived at court. Both because he had been newly invested with his Earldom, his brother having finally had the good grace to die and because his patron the Duke of Norfolk had finally lost all patience with Cromwell and wished him disgraced and sent from court. "I would have the head of that smith born churl from his shoulders but it seems that will never happen so I would have him gone from where he has no place - see it done" is what Norfolk had said and John, John would see it done.

How Thomas was reacting made it even easier. He was frozen still, every limb tensed and his eyes were closed until John told him to open them and when he did? Oh. John let out a breath - they were beautiful and filled with fear, just as much as the rest of him was.

"Tell me, do you dream of what we shared? I think you do, do you not? Even now, you know your place and tremble with shame because you tried to deny it. I do not like being denied, my lad. "

He tightens his grip on him (Thomas will have bruises and it exults him) then and leans down to whisper in his ear.

"I will have you back. "

It takes a long time after the Earl leaves before Thomas can even bring himself to leave the room and when he does it is in a daze in which he can hardly see where he is. Somehow he finds his way to his rooms. Somehow. The throwing off of his clothes is an automatic motion and he finds the longest night shirt he owns and stumbles to his bed, still aching in every part of himself. Still feeling those silk sheets against his skin, he pulls his own bed sheets off the bed, suddenly needing to not feel them and then pulls the covers around himself and desperately tries to pull back to himself.

It takes a very long time for him to do so.

John starts his campaign easily enough - he is introduced to the king by another one of his allies at court and he charms the king by congratulating him on the birth of his son and proving himself a good courtier. Thomas is still absent, which delights John and makes this all the easier to move the pieces into the right places. The next step, the next step is a few days later when the king, obviously irritated, asks a page for Cromwells whereabouts and looks annoyed at the answer. John lets himself give a start of recognition, quickly 'hidden' and makes sure Henry notices it and draws him away from the others.

"Do you know something of Master Cromwell?" Henry asks bluntly.

"Forgive me, your majesty but yes, I do. He was taken into my house for a time as a young man - my father often extended the hand of charity to the benefit of many impoverished but bright young men so that they might better themselves through learning and service. " He lets a sigh of regret come into his voice then. "But alas, I have not seen him for many years. "

"Yes indeed" the king says and the tone in his voice has a note of danger "that was not something that I knew of"

"Perhaps...Master Cromwell did not wish to tell of it? It was, forgive me my lord, a trying time, one that perhaps Master Cromwell is not entirely proud of. But I am sure that since then, he has far and away reformed himself."

And ah yes, he has the king. He has the king and more. He can see Henry is curious and he can hear it in the mans demand for an explanation.

"Well, your majesty I do not wish to impugn a mans character and undoubtedly Master Cromwell has bettered himself in your service but he did not leave our families under, shall we say, the best of circumstances."

And that's when John spins his tale - it has enough of the truth in it. It is true enough that his father had charged him with the funds to take in promising young men into his service. It is true enough that Thomas left his service abruptly but John gives it a different spin entirely, painting a tale of a young man arrogant and ungrateful - "bluntly most gracious majesty, he was a snake - always out for what he could grasp and use from those higher than he with no love or gratitude and certainly no loyalty, though he could feign it well enough. I am afraid to say that he charmed our family into giving him much and then ran as soon as it proved advantageous to leave us for another. "

He gives a sigh then. "But your majesty, I am sure that he has humbly repented of all this, though I must say I wish he would have returned to the service of our family as he promised he would - still there is no doubt that his service to your majesty is vital - I have certainly heard that he brags of it enough. "

It is so, so easy to bring the King into a rage and then to suggest that perhaps the punishment Cromwell should suffer would be to be stripped of his titles and estates and sent out to labour as a man of his origins should. It is the King, in the end who suggests that if John wishes to gain back such an ungrateful servant perhaps it could be arranged.

John does not smile as he hears this. It is too great a triumph for smiling.


	4. Relive Your Darkest Moments

He is ashamed of it but there is a part of Henry that almost, almost believes what the Earl is saying. A small mean part of him, the part that has never thought he is good enough as a man, rather than a king and thus of course he would only be loved for what people sought to gain from his kingship. It is the same part of him that has always thought he must be lacking in comparison to Arthur and yet burned fiercely with the comparisons, the same part of him that is simply jealousy.

But he is not that part of himself, not entire. And there is this - there is Tom and his love. Tom who is ambitious, undoubtedly so but has always let his work speak for itself. Tom has never asked Henry for favour. And there is this - when he saw Toms face across the court reacting to the Earl he had not looked guilty or furtive or angry. He had looked terrified. And Tom, Henry thinks, Tom knows Henry - knows what story he could tell him to paint himself in the best light and he has instead done the opposite.

No, Henry does not believe the Earl and with every sentence he speaks he believes him less and less but does not let it show. Better to let the man believe he is still the king of changeable whims who will easily be led to where this man (a favourite of Norfolk, Henry recalls. Norfolk, who has never liked Tom) wishes him to go.

I like him not! Henry thinks of the Earl of Norwich as he bows to him and leaves, his triumph not as hidden as the man thinks it is.

No, something is rotten here and it is not his Thomas. Not in the slightest.

It takes Henry time to realise that something is truly, dangerously wrong and it is in large part because of Toms absence, rather than his presence. The few times he does see him, his love looks awful - gaunt thin and haunted but never staying still long enough to be looked at (he is busy undertaking a great deal of the work of the reform of a series of laws which requires much travel between Whitehall and Westminster). It is only when Anne returns (she had been visiting her family home of Hever with the children to give Elizabeth time with her cousins) that Henry realises just how far things have gotten.

(The Earl has been making more and more unpleasant hints and Henry has let the man believe that he believes him).

"Your majesty, I am sorry but Lord Cromwell cannot dine with you today" is the answer Toms servant has been bringing to Henry but it is Anne who Ralph Sadler intercepts with the message that Thomas is ill and the worry in his voice alarms Anne greatly. And so it is Anne who goes to him first.

But what Thomas Cromwell knows of it is a small hand on his forehead (not the Earl, not the Earl, he can feel it isn't and that helps) and a firm order for a bath to be drawn and for the bed linens to be changed (there are still no sheets there, he had not been able to bear it) and for clean nightshirts to be bought. The bath is...the bath is heat that is a balm to the ache in him - his limbs loosening in the water that is scented with flowers and mint (not what the Earl used) and Anne's hands are gentle through his hair, the sound of her voice low and soft. It is what she uses to sing to Elizabeth and Tommy and he eases into it.

It is when he is laid back in bed - clean and warm and Anne's hands gentle in his hair that she voices a gentle question and he...he can hardly bear it. He cannot say such a thing to his love, cannot give her the burden of his shame to bear. He cannot do it. Tears sting at the corner of his eyes.

"Oh love, what has happened to you?"

Anne's soft words undo him and he is weeping openly now. When it stops, when he finally feels the storm of tears pass he can hardly look at Anne but her small hands keep carding through his hair (she talked him through what she was doing the whole time and it mattered - it had kept him in the present) and there is no anger in her silence. Just patience. Patience and love.

It is easier not to look at her, when he tells the story. Easier, but it is still the hardest thing that he has ever done in his life, reciting his story. He tells her only the bare bones, the starkest facts because he cannot trust himself to tell any more. Anne's hands never stop running through his hair, keeping him in this world where he is safe. Safe at least for a while, but the Earl is not without influence, Thomas knows that and he does not want his gracious Queen endangered on his behalf. Not for a moment. He has always known that the Earl is charming but...he remembers the other poisonous words the man whispered about his influence. About how he could make sure that any Thomas cared for would vanish, would fall if he did not remember his place.

"I should not have told you" he finds himself blurting out "I should not have spoken of this, he will, he will..."

"I am the Queen and it is my duty to care for and protect all my subjects. All my subjects, my love. And more than that, I would not have you ashamed, my raven. I would never have you shamed for the world, but I will see justice done, I promise."

And then of course, they both know they must tell Henry, who only knows that there is something wrong. Thomas has no idea how to find the words again so it is Anne who says, I will tell him and I will be with you, my love.


	5. Is Love Not Love

**Note:** this chapter does contain some gruesome imagery and references to trauma/torture. It also contains sap which was genuinely drawn from Henry's love letters. Additionally, the author has a lot of emotions about faith, sexuality and the ways in which not straight people had happy lives in the past as well that may mean this is not entirely historically accurate for which I beg indulgence *g* Title from a song by Karliene.

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It is Mary who gently coaxes her sister to leave the side of a sleeping Thomas, but it is a difficult thing to do and Mary is relieved that she manages it at all. Thomas of course, knows nothing of this for he is more deeply asleep than he has been able to manage for days. He is so tired that he simply cannot stay awake any longer, not even for the fear of nightmares. And he does have them, though later he remembers very little of them - a confused jumble of horrors and fear. But he does sleep, though not as quietly as he does when he is with Henry and Anne.

In court, the Earl of Norwich reports to his patron that his scheme is working out far better than planned and Norfolk is well pleased. The Earl also wonders if he can make further use of Thomas Seymour and thinks, no, the man is foolish and reckless besides - I will let him alone for I want nothing to spoil what is already going so well.

And the king smiles and thinks of the sounds the Earl would make as his guts were ripped out as he does so. Henry only wishes he could perform the deed himself, that he could give back every moment of pain and shame that the Earl had inflicted on his raven. And that he could give it back tenfold.

When Thomas wakes, it is Henry who is there. It is Henry, Thomas thinks, fighting off the panic that overtakes him - it is my love and my king and there is no Earl here in this room. And Henry sees and moves away a moment but Thomas, Thomas cannot bear it. He reaches out his hand puts his into Henry's and thinks, his hand could never be the Earls. Never. He has mapped the lines of his Henry's hands, kissed them solemnly and with laughter and many things in love both great and small. No, they are not the Earls hands.

"Oh my dark haired love" Henry says, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"I am...I am sorry my..." Thomas starts to say and he is, he is sorry for everything - for having remained silent, for his reaction, for the whole sorry mess in its entirety but Henry, Henry stops him softly, his hand still in his.

"There is nothing, nothing in the world that you should be sorry for. Not for the world would I have you say you have caused me offence for you have not, my raven but if you would have my absolution then I gladly give it, that it might make you glad."

It is Thomas who gives his answer, though not in words. He sits up to kiss Henry, determined to do so, determined to relearn the lines of a beloved face. And it is Henry who sits still, almost reverently as he does so and Thomas feels warm with love, despite everything - he is sore and tired and scared yes, but as with Anne he feels warmed by the love he has been given. Surely the Lord cannot call this a sin, this love of theirs, though the world will say it is.

Henry had sent Thomas away from court to the most luxurious and private of the royal manors so his love might heal away from court and in good air and he plans to join him with Anne as soon as it can be arranged - for they all in need of time together to simply be, without prying eyes upon them. But first, first Henry must deal with Norfolk and the accursed Norwich and he must do so without the whole world hearing of what the man has done to Tom.

Norfolk, Norfolk is almost easy in comparison. Henry cannot, of course simply order the arrest of one of the great lords of the realm for while a king may be answerable only to the Lord, a kingdom cannot survive without the loyalty of the peers of the realm and so he must tread carefully. But that does not mean that he can let this stand - Norfolk has been seeking to undermine those in whom Henry has placed his trust for a long time and he must be thwarted.

"I would say, your majesty that we should suggest to his grace that it is time that his son took up the mantle of the Dukedom and that his grace should, in light of his health, retire gracefully to his estates - of course your majesty will send some trusted men to supplement his staff" is the advice that Thomas Boleyn gives (he has been informed only about Norfolks plotting to remove the kings advisors through base and false accusations) with an ironic twist to his words. "Plainly, demote him and let him know you are watching but do not do so in a way that appears in any way openly insulting so he can have nothing to hang a grievance upon - indeed perhaps give him several more titles in the bargain - I know it sits ill to reward such duplicity but think of this - it will be the greatest punishment to Norfolk to know that he will spend the rest of his days in an empty cage of luxury far from power - watched and unable to plot and as well, unable to find any grounds for offence that he may take to others."

The Earl of Norwich is a more difficult matter - for the Lord only knows what the man may take it in to his head to say if he is cornered (Henry has heard somewhat more of the man from his spies of late and the man is truly without conscience or scruple) and Henry will not have his raven bared before all the world as though he has ought to be ashamed or embarrassed of. No, the problem of the Earl of Norwich bears some thinking on.

Norfolk, when confronted attempts to blame the entirety of it on Norwich, which is much what Henry expected. He agrees to an 'honourable retirement' and leaves court both furious and relieved that he has escaped with his head intact, but he leaves discreetly and Norwich only knows that Norfolk has been given several new titles and a grant of a new manor house and lands. The Earl smirks to himself, thinking he is well situated and indeed as soon as his property recovers from his illness he will be able to have him back. He even has a suitable house in which he may house him. Victory is so close he can taste it, can even see himself perhaps taking Cromwells place on the privy council - which is as it should be, such a base born creature does not belong among the great halls of state and certainly his property does not.

No one is more astonished than the Earl when he is awoken with a blade to his throat, bound hand and foot, gagged and taken to the Tower in the dead of the night. No one is more filled with a surge of fear (though the Earl would say he is not a coward and has in the course of his service to the Duke of Norfolk undertaken many tasks involving great risks this is a different kind of terror entirely) when he is taken to one of the lower dungeons and chained to the wall, still gagged.

He expects to be interrogated but no one comes. Indeed he is left entirely alone for two days so that when his interrogators finally arrive he is filthy with sweat, dirt and terror. But he still has something, Norwich thinks with vicious satisfaction - he can still turn this around. After all how can Thomas ever be trusted by the king again, by parliament, by the court when he has told what he knows of him. He goes to open his mouth but he is stopped.

"If you speak, I will have your tongue ripped out by its roots do you hear me? " Norwich stops, his blood running cold. He has missed something, though he knows not what. The king had been putty in his hands! Norfolk had been rewarded and last he had spoken with him had told him that he would be too - perhaps he would even be the Duke of Norwich before the year was out, he had thought! Surely, surely this was some mistake? Surely he would...ah, perhaps it was some partisan of Cromwell who sought to silence him? Norwich scowled - he would certainly kill the base born churls son for this offence. Perhaps he would even make Thomas watch. Yes. This was simply a minor setback and soon he would have revenge on these miserable bastards.

So the Earl merely nodded obediently, viciously smug inside his head.

"I see we understand each other. Good. Now, this is how it will go - you will plead guilty to treason, letters having been found in your possession that give evidence that you sought to make the king a puppet and yourself the true ruler of the land as well as the murder of the Queen and her children in order to install a wife who would obey your commands. In return you will not suffer the full penalty for treason but will instead gain the mercy of a death by beheading. You shall not speak unless to affirm your guilt or this bargain shall be forfeit and you will face a full traitors death."

The Earl went white and did not speak, though he managed to nod. How, how had they known - for he had talked of his plans to no one! Surely they could have no proof, for his private writings were only searchable by order of...surely not the king? Surely the King had not taken the word of Cromwell over a peer of the realm? Surely King Henry the Fickle had not such a trust in the son of a smith? No, they must merely be bluffing, perhaps making a lucky guess! Still, to be safe he would do as they commanded...until he could talk to a gentleman of his station. And then, then he would have his revenge.


	6. Tonight I'm Going To (Bury That Horse)

When Edward tells her that he has found her a husband ("and you should be grateful sister, that such a good man will take you at all") Jane feels oddly flat - she is glad she supposes that she will have a chance at marriage and children with a man who is kind to her (and he is kind to her) and who clearly adores her but...she is sad to leave the Lady Stafford who has been so very lovely to her. When she discovers that her new husband is neighbours with the Staffords the surge of joy bewilders Jane with its depth but she puts it down to simple gratitude for being able to continue the friendship with such a kind lady as Mary is.

Jane wishes, oh she does that Henry would love her as she loves him, that he could be free to pay court to her but she finds she is happy, despite everything - she will have a husband, children and a dear friend in Mary who she can perhaps repay for her kindness towards her.

The manor is a beautiful one - the red brick warm in the sunshine, outfitted with every luxury and comfort (there is even a luxurious bathing room with hot and cold running water) - with privacy and security enough that Thomas feels safe behind its walls. He spends the first few days merely sleeping a great deal, in more peace than he has for what feels like a long time. Anne arrives not long after ("Do not worry yourself, my raven - I have been told I need to take some time in the country for my health after my last pregnancy - Henry will be able to join us soon and as far as the world knows you are somewhere else entirely") and she keeps him company by reading to him or simply sitting and working at her embroidery as he sleeps. Eventually he is well enough to join her in walking in the gardens.

It is beautiful. Here they can simply be, without prying eyes (there may be servants but they are loyal and discreet to a fault) and he can hold Anne's hands openly, can say "my love" without fear. They talk of many things, until at last they simply sit together under a tree, his head in Anne's lap, her small hands running through his curls and Thomas thinks this might be one of his favourite places in all the world and is utterly content.

He is not however, sure what began it but he spends time teaching Anne to swim - the river near the manor is clean, clear and widens into a beautiful pool surrounded by flowers and trees and so the Lord Chancellor of England and the Queen laugh and play like children - dressed merely in their underclothes and unwatched by prying eyes. Anne twines flowers in her hair and jests that he should have a crown to match and Thomas smiles and says he does not think he would look well in a crown, before he splashes Anne with water. They are both laughing and soaked through, the food they had bought entirely forgotten when they hear the sound of footsteps and turning, find Henry is there, the delight on his face evident.

"My own hearts, I bid you stay as you are."

The king moves to embrace them both in easy strides and they are united in the circle of each other's arms and it feels as though the world is made whole again. Later, when they are lying together in the grass, Henry feeding both his loves strawberries as they lean into his embrace he thinks of what he wishes to say and determines that yes, he will speak of what he and Anne have discussed.

"Thomas, my raven. Our raven. You say you would not look well in a crown but I and the Queen say otherwise. Indeed I would crown you myself, my love, if the world would allow it. But as I cannot do so for the world to see, I will do so in the eyes of God, for I do not believe that the Lord would look askance upon this - not when his foremost commandment is love."

The crown Henry draws from his saddle is beautifully wrought, echoing both his and Anne's in its design and Thomas, Thomas looks at him like Henry is truly the sun and Thomas is unworthy.

"Love, you will always be worthy of us. Both of us." It is Anne who speaks first and Henry nods, firmly. "That is why this crown is yours and it is why there is somewhat else we wish to give you - for though we three cannot be wed in the eyes of men, we are...we are before the Lord."

Thomas looks at his loves and can feel nothing but joy as Anne hands him a ring, one of a trio - the other two rings are worn by Henry and Anne. He does weep, but with joy, when he reads the inscription upon them.

Some days earlier

"The Earl of Norwich is to be stripped of his rank, the title given over to his brothers child. Henceforth she shall be Countess of Norwich, with the Earldom to be inherited by the oldest of her children, regardless of sex. Furthermore..."

John, once the Earl of Norwich did not listen to the rest of the proclamation, too consumed with his own rage to pay it any mind. That he should lose his title to his brothers worthless daughter! He had had plans for the girl, plans to marry her to someone who would best suit his interests and now, now she was to be given everything he had fought so hard for. It was intolerable!

"...but I do further charge that the aforesaid John did cruelly and wilfully murder his own natural brother and further that he did so with great malice of intent"

When John hears this, he goes white. Somehow, somehow they have found his private books, in his private rooms. But...and then he sees the king and John, John knows himself and his life to be forfeit for the King looks at him as though he would kill him himself, with his own hands. He has underestimated the King, John thinks numbly as his sentence is read out, but when the King says he would have a private audience with the prisoner his hope rises. Perhaps, perhaps it is simply that the King is going along with the pretence of a trial and will soon spring a trap on those who have accused a peer of the realm.

Yes, John thinks as he is led away to his cell, it must be that. The king cannot have such an attachment to Cromwell to condemn men of such high estate as me for him. It cannot be.

When the king does come to his cell, finally, the night before his execution date is set John finds he is gravely mistaken.

"You know, I had not intended that you would leave this room alive" the King says, cold and matter of fact in a way that makes even Johns blood run cold "I had thought to have you die screaming by my hand, every last moment a torment that I would have prolonged for as long as possible. And yet, it would still be not enough for the vile deeds that you have done."

The king paused a moment and the smile that appears on his face is vicious.

"But I have thought myself a better stratagem - you will die privately, without notice and stripped of your titles. I will further have your name erased from all records and I will see your corpse thrown in the paupers grave. Or perhaps, I will gift it to the surgeons for their researches."

John finds he cannot speak. He should, but he cannot find the words. This, this cannot be - to be forgotten, to be thrown away like a commoner after a perfunctory execution of no note, attended only by the headsman, the constable and a priest! To have no opportunity to speak! It cannot be borne, John thinks, it cannot.

"Mer..." he starts to say but the king stops him, savagely, the blade of a knife to his nether regions and John can feel himself trembling.

"Do not think even to speak that word to me, after what you have done. Be thankful that I do not deprive you of your worthless organ before you meet the axe and say no more."

Before the King turns to go he leans down and whispers into the former Earls ear and what he says makes John expel the contents of his stomach onto the prison floor after the King leaves.

For he had truly miscalculated and only now, at the last, does John know it.


	7. Who Is The Lamb (& Who Is The Knife)

**March 1541**

His brother, Edward Seymour reflected, was an idiot. He'd hoped that the years spent cooling his heels on the continent as an envoy might have taught him better but it seemed that all Thomas had learned was an even higher opinion of himself and even less of an ability to not let the world know it. Oh he was charming, Edward thought, at least on the surface but he was still an idiot.

"Cromwell is a duke now - he is firmly in favour with both the King and the Queen - if Norfolk could not dislodge him then we certainly will not brother."

"But why should he have the ear of royalty when we, who are far better born do not? I say it is..."

"A hopeless cause. And if you are thinking of putting another one of our sisters before the king? He has not even looked at another woman these past years, let alone bedded one. So brother, it is better to find other ways to advance."

Edward was marginally pleased to hear his brothers grudging assent as he departed but he could tell it was through gritted teeth, which meant that his idiot brother no doubt bore some watching. Edward briefly put his face in his hands in frustration - just one more headache his brother was the cause of.

Thomas Seymour was fuming - why could his brother not be so damned timid and cautious and instead see that bold action was needed to restore the Seymour family fortunes, especially as Jane's time as the Kings mistress had bought them nothing but sneers and laughter. No, someone would have to do something to advance the family and if Edward would not, then Thomas would.

(The failure of the enterprise of the Earl of Norwich and the Duke of Norfolk is not in his mind).

His first thought had been to use one of his sisters but it was impossible - Dorothy was betrothed and Elizabeth was married now ( to Cromwell's son of all people) and, Thomas had to admit grudgingly that the king had eyes only for his wife. No, it would have to be something else. Something, thought Thomas Seymour smugly, more final. He could poison the Queen but then there was the still the matter of her children, all of whom were lauded as Princes and Princesses and all of whom would stand in line to the throne before any other children of any other wife, even if he could get his father to break Dorothy's betrothal agreement in the first place. While Thomas was sure he could talk Dorothy into doing her family duty and enticing the King he was less sure the King would be drawn to her (it would have been better if it was Elizabeth he could dangle in front of him, Thomas thought sourly - but Elizabeth would have no bar of him).

And then it occurred to him - what about Princess Mary? It was known that the King and the Queen were looking for a betrothal for her and it was also known that they were allowing her an unusual amount of choice in who she wished to wed. Why not put his suit forward, when it would be easy enough to charm the girl (she was comely, Thomas thought, so it would be no chore to court her) and marry her. And when she had birthed a couple of healthy sons, well, he was sure that the country would prefer a return to a good Catholic monarchy, he would be King, the Queens children could go the way of the Woodvilles and then finally he would have the power and acclaim that was only the due of a man of his stature.

Jane was content. Her husband had given her two beautiful children - Edward and Margery (even if it discomforted her that her husband's family liked to believe that Edward was the kings child, though he was not) and he adored her entirely, giving her the freedom to manage their house and family in way that many husbands would not. It makes her even gladder to have Mary Stafford so close by, especially as Jane could be there for Mary when her husband had died two years ago, leaving Mary alone with her children - though her future was a secure one, the lands and estate that had been granted to her husband automatically went to Mary to manage on behalf of their daughter Annie, who would eventually inherit her mothers title as Countess of Stafford, Jane knew it could still be lonely for Mary, especially as her daughter Catherine was married and her son William had gone to his Carey relatives to learn the running of the estate he would one day inherit.

She was glad to be there for Mary but lately, lately Jane had been feeling strangely around her friend. The kind of warmth and giddy feelings that she had heard other ladies talking of feeling around men, something that Jane had never felt. Oh to be sure, she had been delighted by the attention of King Henry but she had never felt this way before. Never lost herself in such detailed daydreams of King Henry's hair shining as he moved as she had about Mary's. No, Jane had slowly realised she was in love with Mary Stafford and she had no idea what to do with such feelings.

Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk looks down at the letter that has been sent to him by one of the servants he still pays to spy within the palace and considers its contents. There is no doubt that Thomas Seymour is an idiot, without the intelligence and cunning of his late and lamented Earl of Norwich that had made him a perfect agent but Seymour is a charming and handsome idiot and it's certainly possible that Mary could be dazzled by a handsome face and manner - but would it be enough for her to take the crown? After all he knows that the girl is overly fond of her half siblings and so is the country, Thomas thinks sourly, for having waited so long for a prince they now have three healthy boys.

He steeples his hands together, thinking. It is true that Mary would never attempt to wrest the crown from her half siblings but...perhaps she could be persuaded of the necessity of doing so in order to restore Catholicism to England. And if not, she could certainly be made to say the right words, as she is but a woman after all. And Thomas Seymour would make a useful figurehead, seeing as his oldest son has thrown his lot in with Cromwell, though perhaps Reginald Pole might also be willing to put aside his religious calling for more secular ambitions and Seymour can be disposed of just as he can send his cursed niece in to a nunnery.

The Duke of Norfolk sets himself to write several letters, all of which will be in code. It would not do to be found out, of course.


	8. Seven Devils (All Around You)

George Boleyn still finds himself in amazement at the crowd of children that surround his family - there are his and Janes, Eleanor who is five and Geoffrey who has just turned two, there is Mary & her Annie (though Cathy and Will are not often there and would protest that they are too grown up to be called children George still counts them as such) and of course his little sisters five. Elizabeth, who is every inch the perfect princess at nearly eight, Tommy, who at five is already the kind of Prince of Wales the country had waited for for so long, his namesake George who, he thinks is an adorable bright imp at not quite two and of course William, already a boisterous toddler and baby Margaret, to whom his daughter Nell had decided was her special charge.

He is also one of the few who has the privilege of knowing who else is part of his sisters family and George, despite the trouble that his official brother in law has sometimes caused with his lack of subtlety, is glad to know it and gladder still his little sister is happy. Watching her now, surrounded by her children and those she loves it is almost as though the time before Tommy was born was a dream, a phantom born of night terrors.

It might have been indeed but for the resentful looks Thomas Seymour would direct at him and his sister when he thought no one was observing him, as well as the way John Seymour had only barely hidden his disappointment at the birth of each new royal child. (Edward, the other Seymour still at court was clearly disappointed but also realistic enough to switch his strategies but his relatives were not). They bore watching indeed, George thought to himself, reminding himself that he would have to let his wife know as well, for more loyal eyes could only assist matters in keeping his family safe.

Mary still does not feel at ease around Thomas Cromwell, though her ease with Anne came back far quicker (she still, even now, has a shadow of fear that will always be there in her relationship with her father. Love him though she does, she has not forgotten what he was willing to do and what happened when she displeased him) - though she does not understand she loves her stepmother, who has been so kind to her and who after all, is the mother of her beloved siblings, was the means by which Mary is able to see her mother again and who has always advocated for her, even when Mary's own father did not. It is still hard, betimes, to know that a child not of Tudor blood is ahead of her in the succession, when Mary is a royal twice over but...she loves George too dearly to hold it against him or think him less her brother than any of the other children.

She has to admit though, to a sense of relief that William & Margaret are as Tudor as Tommy and Bess - with the characteristic red hair. She is also relieved to hear courtiers exclaim over Georges resemblance to a portrait of Owen Tudor and Thomas Boleyn says that George is the image of his great-grandfather - as well as sharing a similarity of face with little Geoffrey Boleyn. No one seems to see Thomas Cromwell in the Prince and for that Mary can only thank the Lord, even as she resents having to keep such a secret. But not so much that she does not laugh at the speculation around court about why the Duke of Essex is so resolutely devoted to his work, without even the hint of a lover or a mistress, let alone a wife.

Besides, Mary has much to be thankful for these days. For one, she is betrothed and to a man that she loves, with an announcement and a wedding soon to occur and that, that is truly a marvellous thing. When she was young Mary had dreamed of being Holy Roman Empress or a Queen of another country and indeed, she had suitors from Spanish and Portuguese Princes both. And instead, she had fallen in love with a minor German Duke and a Lutheran at that. But Mary, Mary could not imagine spending her life with any other than Philip. Not for the greatest crown in Christendom and she thinks perhaps, she understands her father, Anne and Cromwell far more now - for to live without love is a painful thing indeed and she has missed Phillip these past years when he has been commanded abroad by his father, who though delighted his son had made such a marriage was far less accommodating once the betrothal was set (Mary knew it was not charitable but she had no great feeling of fondness for the man). But soon it shall be over and Mary is already planning her wedding gown.

Her mother is happy for her - though she has struggled to accept her daughter marrying a Lutheran she is still delighted that her daughter is marrying a man she loves who loves her and will also be able to stay in England. For that is another boon - Phillip is a second son and so he can make his home in her home and unlike most Princesses Mary will not have to leave the land and the people she loves.

No, Mary has much to thank the Lord for. She does not however, thank the Lord for the return of Thomas Seymour, whom she had remembered as particularly insufferable when his sister was her fathers mistress and whose absence has not improved his manners. Indeed he has been hovering around her in a most irritating way, seemingly thinking that he is being charming. He is not charming in the slightest and Mary wrinkles her nose in distaste at the fact that her return to court will mean that she must endure him. At least for the moment - Mary hopes that when her betrothal is announced the man will withdraw, for surely he must then understand that his suit has no hope, though why he has not yet when it is staring him in the face does not say anything good of his wits.

Surely though, a betrothal announcement and a wedding date will make it clear even to Thomas Seymour and he will leave.

Norfolk has only been allowed back to court on sufferance and it burns him - especially that it was by the grace of that bastard Cromwell, who has somehow securely wormed his way so firmly into royal family as to be unmovable. But perhaps, not so unmovable - after all Norfolk has been allowed to return to court and that, that says that he still has allies and influence here and cannot be kept away by a smiths son made a Duke. Not if the King wishes to keep his throne.

It also irritates him that he must work through such a vessel as Thomas Seymour, though at least he has made sure that he has done so at a remove so that if the man fails, Norfolk will not fall with him. Reginald Pole however, is a far more promising prospect - for he has agreed to forgo spiritual power for secular and spiritual marriage for a marriage to the Princess Mary and the crown of England that comes with such a match (Norfolk consigns his niece and her children to their doom with hardly a thought - for his niece has certainly disappointed him in her forwardness and unwillingness to cleave to her family duty and besides, she condoned his banishment and that he cannot forgive and further, King Henry has disrespected him greatly and more than that has promoted low born men to heights they should not have ascended at the expense of their betters).

No Norfolk has a greater plan (Pole will raise an army, Norfolk will bring his own men and then they will wed Mary to Pole and thus will they sway the people with two monarchs rich in royal blood) but if Thomas Seymour succeeds? Well he will be thoroughly in Norfolks debt and that? That will mean that he shall control the King and the realm will return to how it should be.

The Duke of Norfolk is well pleased with himself indeed.

He is far less pleased when the betrothal of Princess Mary Tudor and Philip of Bavaria is announced, with the wedding to take place within the next month. Thomas Seymour, less able to conceal his emotions, storms from the room in a great rage, vowing that he will take decisive action for clearly that is all Mary will respond to and he? He will have her and he will have the crown, the world be damned.


	9. Heartlines (On Your Hand)

Title from Heartlines by Florence And The Machine. I also want to give an explicit content note for this chapter - it contains a depiction of abduction and attempted rape as well as some internalised self blame on the part of a character.

Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk makes himself the talk of the court when he is banished for the second time, this time never to return when he makes an extraordinary series of accusations in a council meeting, accusations he directs at the Duke of Essex when the King listens to Cromwell over Howard. Among other venom he accuses Cromwell of being a 'base and shameless heretic who wishes to marry the Princess Mary and thereby have the entire rulership of this kingdom over those whose blood gives them the right to such rule' which the King soon shuts down, though those who observed the scene say that Cromwell turned pale for a moment, which strikes them as strange for the Duke of Essex's position is an untouchable one, as well all at court know. Opinion is divided as to what finally caused the Duke of Norfolk to do such an impolitic thing but it will certainly be talked over for many days.

In fact, Norfolk had utilised the tirade to get himself away from court and the myriad of spies that would hamper his movements, though he admits to himself that he had also been sorely tried enough that the outburst would have occurred regardless - to see that bastard Cromwell a Duke! And worse still the respect and deference that was paid to him by other members of the council and by the King! It had made Norfolks blood boil and he was only too glad to let the man know it and to have the pleasure of seeing Cromwell pale, at least for a moment. No, it had been greatly satisfying and Norfolk, Norfolk was well pleased. He had been monitored leaving court of course but that was easy enough to throw off - his own men had disposed of the court functionaries and they had gone on not to Arundel Castle but to a manor near the coast where Norfolk awaited Reginald Pole. When the man arrived they had retreated to another house to plan their next moves and to see if Thomas Seymour would succeed (they did not, in fact rate his chances highly but it was best to plan for all eventualities).

Meanwhile, Thomas Seymour had made his own plans, such as they were. He had decided to time his abduction of Mary as best he could - he would sneak into her bed chamber through the servants passages, bind and gag her and carry her away through the same route. After that, Thomas thought with satisfaction, she would have to marry him or be ruined entirely and then, then he would be able to show his brother who held the real power (perhaps he would send Edward to the tower for his family disloyalty). He had thought to find other conspirators but in the end he decided that it was best that he acted alone - after all once he had Mary in his hands no one would dare to harm him for fear of harming her and getting his hands on her should be easy enough - his plan is to bribe a servant to drug the food of the guards and Mary's ladies in waiting so they will not wake and raise the alarm. He has a carriage waiting and his house is prepared and secure. No, he will be bold and he will succeed.

He is sure Mary will be easily charmed in the end, especially if he gives her a child or two. After all, Thomas Seymour thinks, he is certainly a charming man.

Mary, meanwhile has been spending time with her siblings - she delights in all of them equally and it is a blessing to be able to be a big sister, even if it means that sometimes she must say no to sweets, though Bess, Tommy and George are so charming it is difficult to refuse them. Liam and little Meg are young enough but they are shaping up to be in the same mould, Mary thinks with a smile watching William clap his hands delightedly at his older siblings playing, while little Meg is in her cradle. They are a balm to her and Mary leaves them with a smile upon her face, thinking of how she hopes to give them a playmate or three after she and Philip wed for she has always dreamed of motherhood, the Lord willing. The smile lasts all through the evening - she dines privately as her father and stepmother are visiting with another great lord some distance away and therefore Mary feels no need to dine with the court that day for she is tired and wishes greatly for her bed. It lasts as she drifts off to sleep. It only stops when she awakens to a dagger at her throat.

The first thing Mary does is open her mouth to scream but the dagger presses harder into her skin and she feels a wetness on her throat and she feels sick as Thomas Seymour hisses "hush princess, hush" under his breath.

"I have drugged your ladies and your guards, so do not look to them for help" he says to her, as normally as if he is talking of what he shall have for supper "you will go with me through the servants passage and you shall do so quietly if you do not wish harm to come to you or to anyone who serves you. "

"Good girl" Seymour says when she manages a nod. "See, it is no bad thing at all - I shall be the best of husbands to you, if you will only obey me dutifully" and Mary, Mary freezes, not from fear but from a sudden surge of anger. So that is what that knave Seymour wanted - to abduct her and marry her by force to seize power for himself. She will not have it, Mary thinks, though Seymour has her held securely at this moment, surely things will change for the Lord will not will it that Mary should be wed in such a way, to such a man.


	10. A Heart (Has A Language Of Its Own)

"No time to dress, your highness - besides you will not need to be clothed for long" he says, this man who is leering at her body and suddenly, suddenly Mary realises that she is only in her nightgown and she feels worse, especially at the press of his body against hers and especially that he seems to be enjoying the signs of her fear and suddenly, suddenly she is angrier than ever. And she realises Seymour has dropped the dagger from her throat and Mary, Mary kicks him as hard as she can and has the satisfaction of hearing a grunt of pain. But he grabs her by the hair and suddenly, suddenly he throws her to the bed and Mary's scream dies in her throat as the man looms over her.

"If you will not behave like a lady, I will not treat you as one. This bed will do as well as any other to make you my wife" and then Seymour, then he starts cutting her night gown to pieces as he holds her down and someone, Mary thinks distantly, is screaming. It takes her a moment to realise that it is her own voice and Seymours face is terrible as he leans over her, clearly searching for a gag and then he...then he….Mary never finishes the thought, because suddenly Seymour is gone and there are guards in the room and her ladies in waiting are crowding her.

It emerges that one of the ladies that Seymour had drugged had eaten lightly that night and had therefore thrown off the effects of the drug far earlier than Mary's other ladies and had been able to sneak away to summon the guards when Seymour was...distracted. But that comes later. At this moment Mary just wants quiet, just wants to be in a place where her bed is not. She's going to have to have that bed burned, Mary thinks, oddly calm inside her head as her ladies help her into a tub of steaming hot water and carry away the remnants of her nightgown, though she's sure that sometime soon that calm will shatter, at this moment it is carrying her through.

Except it is too much. Too many voices, too much noise and the press of people around is making Mary feel sick and she wants to demand that they all leave but somehow the words stick in her throat and she simply lets her ladies dry her and dress her in fresh clothes and rebraid her hair and fetch a chair for her to sit by the fire as they give orders for food and mulled wine to be bought. She only finds her voice when one of her ladies starts to cry and then, it turns out that Mary spends much of the time comforting her as she does asking for the Duke of Essex to be sent for immediately.

Mary knows that whatever her feelings of uneasiness about the man he is deeply loyal to her family and moreover the one person in the palace who can be trusted to tell her father what has happened and...Philip oh, Philip. Will he still wish to wed me, when he knows of this, Mary thinks - what might Seymour say of what happened after all? Perhaps that I had invited him into my rooms and will Philip think me a wanton?

Mary is crying when Thomas Cromwell arrives but he doesn't comment on it. He doesn't crowd around her either, but instead chooses a chair across from hers, leaving a table between them. He lets Mary choose to come closer if she wishes and that, that is somehow more comforting than anything any other person has done for her this night and Mary feels her heart lift, at least a little. He may be many things (a reformer, her father and stepmothers lover) but Mary appreciates his gesture in this moment.

She tells him the story in stark terms, half wishing she did not have to speak of it but knowing she must and closes with "and I swear on the bible I did nothing to entice or tempt him, your Grace" to which Cromwell merely says "I believe you, your highness" with great solemnity, kindness and no trace of either pity nor blame. It matters to Mary, in that moment, more than she can say and she hopes it shows in her face for all she can do is nod tightly.

Mary doesn't realise she has said 'but will Philip? Will my father?' until the words leave her mouth and she stops, ashamed at her forwardness but Cromwell only looks at her gently, the way, Mary realises later, that he looks at her siblings.

"Your husband to be is a good man, a man of great kindness - if he lives up to it and I believe, your highness, he shall - then he shall believe you as he should. And as for your father." for a moment Cromwell pauses, "forgive me Mary, I know and understand that you cannot be easy with who I am to your father and the Queen and I would never expect you to be but I promise that your father will believe you and will not think less of you for what an evil man has made you endure."

It is then that Mary waves her hand at her remaining ladies (who have thankfully moved away, though they still in sight of her and Cromwell) to stand back a little more - all but her two most trusted who will remain in the corner. She does so because she does not know that she can control her tears and she does not wish to cry in front of any more people this night.

"But how can you know, Master Cromwell? Have you ever told my father such a thing as this?"

Cromwell looks away for a moment. It is only for a moment but it is enough and suddenly, suddenly Mary knows and she, she does not know what her thoughts are.

"Tell me, your grace. Tell me how you know." It is not precisely an order but it is not precisely not one either.


	11. Breaking Down And Building Up

He looks into the fire and for a moment Mary thinks that Cromwell will not answer at all. Instead, he turns to look at her again and his expression is kind and still. "I...your highness I would not have you burdened with others pain when your own is so heavy. " Mary is almost, almost tempted to let it rest, to send the man away and to find someway to sleep but...she cannot. She needs the certainty of knowing that her father has believed someone else he loves and she needs to know what it is that Cromwell has told him. It must show in her face, she thinks because the man across from her begins to talk.

"Do you remember the Earl of Norwich, your highness?" and Mary stops him for a moment. "Please Master Cromwell, it is Mary. I do not think this is a conversation for titles."

"It is no conversation to be having at all" he says and they both share a shaky smile. Mary waves a hand and nods at his earlier question - yes, she does remember the unfortunate Earl of Norwich - executed for both treason and murder, he had certainly been the talk of the court for a time.

When Cromwell tells her the story (& she asks him for the whole of it, determinedly) she barely makes it to the privy to expel the contents of her stomach and absurdly, it is Cromwell who comforts her. When he leaves Mary is sorry to see him go, something she never would have thought would happen in regards to the man. And when she finally finds her bed (not the bed that she was in when Seymour attacked her - they find other rooms for her) she feels comforted, despite everything.

In the morning Philip asks if he might see her and his gentle kindness is everything Mary had dared to hope for - she can see in his eyes and his face that he believes her without any kind of doubt and it gladdens her heart. Moreover he brings Mary to her siblings and that, that is a wonderful balm to her heart. Her brothers and sisters have not been told of what has happened but Bess and Tommy (Bess in particular) seem to know that something has occurred and they take every opportunity to bring Mary cheer. It helps her to face the gossip of the court, the looks of some of her ladies and the way that she knows she will have to bear it for some time to come. And who knows what Seymour will say.

Her mother and Anne arrive first and they are united in their care for Mary. Anne arranges new rooms for Mary, in a different wing of the palace, one closer to her siblings - with new furnishings and linens. Her mother holds Mary in her arms for a long time. "Oh mia hija, would that you would not have this pain" and she has not called Mary this since she was a very little girl and that, that is when Mary truly cries because she just wants to stay in her mothers arms forever and for her mother to be able to take away her hurts. She cannot, of course.

Anne's arms are a similar sort of comfort, though Anne also gives Mary a quiet and practical compassion that reminds Mary of the Duke of Essex somewhat. She is also the one who makes sure that Mary and her fathers first meeting is a private one but also that she asks if Mary wishes to be received publically by him as well, to show to the court that there is no doubt of Marys story. It matters to Mary, that they are giving her choices.

When Edward finds soldiers in his rooms he knows that his brother has done something profoundly stupid but when he finds out how stupid he lets out a curse aloud. The stupid oaf has ruined his entire family for a mad scheme that could never have worked and they might all end up in the tower for it. As it turns out, Edward manages to convince his interrogators that he knew nothing of his brothers schemes (if nothing else, at least his reputation has ensued that the world knows that if he ever undertook such a venture it would be one planned with astuteness, not this farce) but he feels the shadow of the axe across his neck and especially in the face of the Duke of Essex. His father is banished to Wolf Hall and Edward finds himself sent from court and into exile - he will be sent to be an envoy to the Dutch for the rest of his life and shall not return to England on pain of death.

It is a heavy sentence, Edward thinks as he packs his things and writes to his wife to ready hers and their childrens, but at least he is not his brother. At least he is escaping with his freedom and his head intact.

When Jane hears what her brother has done she is with Mary Stafford and it takes everything she has not to break down into pieces. Surely, surely her brother cannot have done such a thing, she thinks at first for Thomas was always kind to Jane but then Jane remembers the way he could be to others, the way he was when ambitions blinded him and there is a pit in her stomach that gnaws at her. But he is still her brother and Jane, Jane wants to go to London, to at least make sure that Thomas is provided with victuals and blankets in the tower. "I hate what he has done, I abhor it" she sobs to Mary, "but he is my brother and I would not abandon him"

"Oh Jane, Jane" Mary says and she opens her arms to the other woman and murmurs soothing words to Jane as she holds her and somehow, Jane feels that she has never been safer. "You have such a kind heart, my dearest but your brother, he does not deserve it. He tried to blame you for the whole thing, when he was arrested. I am sorry…" Mary starts to say but Jane, Jane cannot bear it anymore - Mary is so kind and so beautiful and the news is too much and before Jane knows it she kisses Mary and somehow, incredibly, Mary kisses her back, her hands in Janes hair.

"Oh love" Mary says softly, gently, when they finally break apart and Jane tries to apologise and leave. "I have felt the same feelings you have, my dear one" and she draws Jane up the stairs to her bedchamber. "Let yourself have this, Jane"

And Jane does.

Thomas Seymour did indeed attempt to blame his actions upon his sister ("she forced me into this scheme - she wished for revenge upon the king for he had broken her heart") and then upon his brother ("Edward is the guilty one, do you hear me") and finally upon Mary herself ("she enticed me, she wished for us to marry and when I came to her she told me she would have us consummate the marriage there in her bed so that none would break it"). It is this last which is the object of gossip, though even the most heartless of gossips and those who take against Mary Tudor the greatest can find no evidence of her having any interest in Thomas Seymour they still talk of it at length.

All his denials still mean that Thomas Seymour is sent to the tower and not to lodge in any comfort either - though he does not know how fortunate he is that neither of Marys parents are present for they both would have been likely to kill him with their own hands. His trial and sentence is like to be a foregone conclusion and some miles away, Norfolk is coldly glad that he has left no trace of his ties to the man and his idiotic schemes. Much better to work his plans through finer tools.


	12. Raise It Up (Lionhearted Girl)

Thomas Seymours trial is a foregone conclusion to everyone but him, for he still believes he can charm his way out of it and when the verdict is pronounced, he is taken from the court in a state of great shock. His sentence has, in view of his rank and his rank alone been commuted to beheading but the threat of a full traitors death still hangs over him, if he dares to protest or to further slander the Princess Mary. Seymour himself blames everyone but he himself, cursing his faithless family and allies who have deserted him and further cursing that he was not able to drag them down with him.

He goes to his death and Mary, Mary finds herself crying in private - not for him, not exactly but for the fact that the stain of his hands and his words still remain imprinted upon her and his execution has not erased it. That, that is when Master Cromwell finds her in the gardens and they sit together in silence for a moment before Mary finds herself asking if it ever stops.

"I wish, your highness that I could say it will leave you but I would not give you false comfort. Instead I will say that it will stay with you and yes, it will hurt in various degrees every day and some days, some days it will feel too much to bear. But you will also learn the ways to ease it, to find solace and there will also be love." He smiles then, softly, as though lost in a memory. "You will have love and kindness and those who care for you Mary, to be a salve against the pain, even if it will not cure it or make it less unjust that it occurred."

And once again Mary feels more comforted than she has from any utterance that her pain would pass soon, that it was the will of god that she be tested and shown to be a brave princess, for it had all felt as though she had somehow invited Seymour to do what he had, even without realising it (and though Mary did blame herself in a part of her heart, she did not wish to dwell upon it for that would do no good at all). Instead she has heard what she had hoped - that she will live and she will smile, she will have love and happiness even if the wounds never heal entirely.

"Thank you, truly" she says to Cromwell and she means it, whatever the differences between them.

After the Seymour debacle the Duke of Norfolk had deemed it wise to withdraw for a time, at least until the situation was more settled. It did mean that Princess Mary would unfortunately be married but after all, marriages could be set aside, especially if Mary could be made to say she had been married unwillingly to a man who was not of her faith (now that, thought Thomas Howard, was a rumour worth spreading in the North - the good princess forcibly wed to a vile Lutheran). He also wished for Reginald Pole to return to the continent to continue to build support, such as there was for a Catholic uprising against the religious settlement.

The Duke knows that while the English people are content, even happy with the state of the country, there will always be men who desire more power and wealth than they have and there will always be those whose discontent can be exploited - the trouble was that the first set of men will easily turn coat and the second set of men are often reckless in the extreme. What he plans to do? Use his agents to ensure the first set of men know that if he falls so shall they and to direct the recklessness of the second in ways that serve his cause rather than hinder it.

And thus, he will start with rumours, with bribes and with pamphlets and perhaps, perhaps he can find a band of players to enact a tale of the overthrowing of a corrupt king by a pious princess who would become a Queen beside her royal husband to make the people more receptive. No, thinks Norfolk, it may take time but it will be well worth the results and he has certainly seen the results of hasty and reckless action.

"I have thought of another direction, your Grace if you would permit it?" Norfolk nods his permission to the playwright he has engaged, for the man is of a shrewd mind and his ideas have been proven worthy of listening to. "Perhaps, this is the tale of a king led astray by evil counsel to usurp his most worthy daughter and thereby allow heresy into the country, which shall damn it. But he and the country can be brought back to the fold by the people and his daughter shall be freed of her detestable marriage to rule together with a prince of the most noble heritage - as akin to King Arthur himself and thus, will the country be healed."

The Duke nods his approval. "It is most correct - tell me, does it have a title?"

"The Princess Of Promise or A Tale Of The Restoring Of Camelot Upon The Reawakening Of The Sleeping Arthur"

I am indeed glad that he has found this particular playwright to undertake this work is what Thomas Howard thinks as he dismisses the man from his presence, for he has a way of shaping words that will engender people to listen. He goes to write to Reginald Pole, to inform him of the latest developments and to tell him to prepare himself for both marriage and the crown in the near future. They must simply prepare a little longer and soon, soon the time will be right and he will take back what is, after all, merely his due.

Thomas Howard does not think of Mary much at all, except perhaps as a convenient figure head and a means to ensure Catholic heirs - he knows she is stubborn yes, but she is a dutiful and pious woman and surely she cannot wish to see the country slide further into this vile settlement in which heresy is tolerated? No, he thinks, she will support us, Lutheran husband and her affection for her half siblings be damned.

In the meanwhile the playwright to whom Norfolk had so carefully entrusted his plans is calmly making his way to the town, where he has lodgings in an inn and by all accounts is firmly settled in for the night. No one connects the well dressed playwright to the rather plain gentleman who makes his way to the nearest royal post town with what seems to be a non urgent message for his patron in London (the playwright is seen by several people to still be carousing in the tavern at this time).

The letter, written by a certain Christopher Marlowe, playwright and poet is addressed inside to George Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and unofficial head of the royal intelligence service.


	13. She Came To Destroy & To Bless

When Mary marries her Philip she has a day that is nothing but joy and laughter. Her wedding gown has been planned for a long time - a gown of cloth of gold embroidered with flowers that Mary had designed herself and Mary finds that she has never felt so beautiful. Bess proudly helps carry her train and Mary catches the eye of her mother and father as she walks down the aisle and she can see they are both so proud of her. It is a beautiful thing.

She sees Philip and has eyes for no one else from that moment on. It is a good thing that Mary does not notice the undercurrents that are still moving through the court, for they would certainly have distressed her. It is George Boleyn who takes on that burden.

"Christopher tells me that Norfolk commissioned this play, but he knows nothing else as yet for Norfolk is close mouthed to a fault - but he is almost certain that the 'virtuous prince' referred to is Reginald Pole."

George looks to his father but the other man stops for a moment to look around to make sure they cannot be overhead before he replies.

"Has he made any contact with Mary?"

"Not as far as Christopher knows - indeed he is almost certain that Norfolk is acting without her knowledge for Norfolk certainly does not trust Mary or have much affection for her - she is merely a means to an end for him, but he will certainly find out. But father, Mary would not seek the throne in such a way."

"I am sure she would not George but" and here Thomas Boleyn looks almost sad "it is best to be certain - when we are we shall inform her but for now? Let the Princess have this moment of happiness before a new storm comes upon her."

"Perhaps it will come to nothing" George says but he does not sound convinced for the Duke of Norfolk is ambitious, cunning and not like to subside into a dignified retirement when he could gain the position of the true power in the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Christopher Marlowe has returned to Norfolk with the final draft of the play ("I am aggrieved that it will never be played in truth" was what he had written to George Boleyn, his friend and one time lover) with which the Duke has rewarded him with gold and asked if he would find a group of players who would be "inclined to put on such a play" Marlowe has offered a troupe he knows locally ("they are sore in need of ready money your grace and will not ask inconvenient questions") and then he has respectfully made to withdraw but Norfolk had stopped him.

"One more thing, if you will Marlowe. I already know you are discreet to a fault and I would have you keep to that by delivering this message for me. It is of the utmost importance to my cause and thus, to your future prosperity."

Christopher nods and bows respectfully, taking the missive in his hand as Norfolk waves him away. He does indeed deliver the message to a waiting messenger who is taking ship to France and it is indeed delivered to Reginald Pole seemingly intact. In fact, the letter had been carefully and painstakingly copied and makes its way to London. In the letter Norfolk writes that he has been discreetly building a base of support for 'you and the Princess Mary, my Lord Pole' and that he anticipates that 'such plays and pamphlets as I have caused to have produced will further endear you to the people'

Indeed the pamphlets have already started being produced and distributed. Though the vast majority of them are treated with disdain and mockery there are a small number who delight in the idea of a return to a purely Catholic England, one in which heresy is suppressed (no doubt they would be surprised to learn that the radical reformers share the same sentiment but from an opposite direction) rather than being allowed to exist alongside the true faith. These men talk loudly of Princess Mary 'saving the kingdom' and bluster about the riches and power they would acquire under such a rule. That such a venture would involve turning their 'beloved princess' into a puppet does not deter them in the slightest. Nor does the fact that Mary is entirely unaware of their aims.

When Mary is told of the plot she is horrified at herself because, for a moment, she is tempted. Only for a moment, but she is - simply at the tantalising vision of becoming Queen Regnant as she thought she might as a small child before Fitzroy. She could restore the Holy Church as the one true church, she could restore her mothers status and surely, surely she could take care of her siblings and make sure they would not come to harm. Mary could do the same to Anne - could make sure her stepmother is given every comfort, allowed to retire to her estates in Pembroke. Her father would come round, Mary thinks, surely he would (and there is a part of her, a tiny part of her that wonders if it would not be justice for her father had sought to displace Mary and her mother and so would be displaced in turn) but that, that is what brings her back.

For they would never allow her father to live (the living rightful king will always be a danger) and they would certainly never allow her brothers to, for made illegitimate or not they will always be dangers. Norfolk and Pole would never allow her to rule in anything but name, Mary knows that well. She thinks to of her beloved Philip, of her beloved Stepmother - are they not both reformers? Does she not think they are good and beloved of the lord? How can she break the peace that has reigned for so many years? Mary cannot and she will not.

And then there is the fact that they would dare to try to break her marriage to Philip. That they will once again make a mockery of Mary herself - thinking her such a weak willed woman that she will simply follow them as they direct. That they would think her such a betrayer of her family. No, it enrages Mary Tudor that these men would presume to involve her in treason and she will not have it. More so because her family has trusted her honour to the point of telling her of this plot and that, that matters too.

Henry has dismissed all the council but motions to the Duke of Essex to stay behind. As the door closes behind the last councillor the king sighs in relief, for he had thought they would never leave and he is in need of somewhat other than matters of state.

"Henry?"

Thomas' question to him, in such contrast to the formal address his raven uses in council gives Henry Tudor a thrill of delight, especially at the faint colour on the other mans olive skin as Henry looks at him intently and then walks over, lifting him onto a table.

"I want you, love. I've been wanting you all morning and right now I want nothing more than to have you on this table and then perhaps, I will take you to bed and have our Anne observe" Henry says, "but I wish to have you all," and at this he stops to kiss Thomas thoroughly, "for my enjoyment alone, my dearest love"

Thomas is smiling, the soft private smile that is only for Henry and Anne and their children when he replies, leaning into Henrys' embrace. It is later, when they are abed with Anne that they are interrupted with the message that Reginald Pole has landed on English soil and goes to meet Norfolk, the pamphlets and the staging of the play to selected audiences having had the effect of stirring up enough of the people to form an uprising.


	14. Come (To Burn Your Kingdom Down)

It is more of an uprising than many had expected for Norfolk has made many promises and there are any number of ambitious men who wish more power for themselves, as well as those who wish to overturn the religious settlement, for all that it has kept England in peace this many years. Indeed, it makes Henry rage to see how many would try to overthrow that peace.

"They will plunge us into civil war for thwarted pride, the Lord help us all" is what one councillor says and Henry agrees, especially as he reads the rebels letter of demands. They wish him to annul his marriage to Anne, to declare Mary his sole heir alongside Reginald Pole - to annul Mary's marriage besides so she might marry a man of 'royal English blood who would rule well beside her' and to hand over 'that base born traitor Cromwell to receive justice and thenceforth to restore those of high degree to the places they are due by virtue of their birth'

Henry knows what they mean to do to his Thomas. The Lord alone knows what will happen to his children (the fate of his own uncles, the princes in the tower screams in Henry's mind, a fear he cannot shake) and Anne, Anne will be named nothing more than his mistress and will lose all. Henry vows that it will not happen but oh, oh there is fear in his heart.

He thinks of his oldest daughter and finds that, despite everything? Henry is simply worried for her, to have this upending her life when she has only recently found her feet again.

(He knows, he knows he was not always the kindest to Mary but he has never wished this for her, not for the world)

"Make sure that the Princess Mary is safe - I would not have these men abducting her for their own ends. Charles, have soldiers sent to guard her and Duke Philip and if it is not safe for them to remain there I would have them return to London."

Henry clasps his friends shoulder. "I am trusting to your judgement in this regard, my friend - I know you will not fail me. Further I would…"

He is interrupted by a messenger who comes to inform the council that a great company of men have taken a town in the north and having lain waste to it are continuing along the road south. Henry, Henry wishes to break something but he does not. Instead, glad for the steadying presence of his loves beside him he turns towards reshaping the plans they had made for events are moving faster than any had thought they would.

"I want Anne" Northumberland says and Norfolk smiles. It is an easy enough request to grant - his niece in return for Henry Percy's support. "I want Anne and I want those brats the king forced upon her well away from us"

"Of course my Lord Percy" and Norfolk watches the other mans face turn rapturously happy as though he is thinking of the idyll of country life he shall have with 'his Anne' and is once again amused at how easily he has bought the man.

It had been no small feat to smuggle in an army of mercenaries and fanatics from the continent (the gold that Reginald Pole has raised has certainly assisted matters but it was still no easy thing) as well as to find support among some of the nobles - Percy had been an easy fish to hook - clearly still believing himself in love with Anne and bitterly wishing to get out of his unhappy marriage he had been all too eager to pledge his support and that of his men. Others had been lured through the showing of the play - mostly younger men who burned for more power and wealth than they currently possessed and still others through promises of alliance.

No it had been no small thing to raise this army and already it had had success in the sacking of a town. Already they had showed their power, Norfolk thought with satisfaction - now the so called King will see what happens when he crosses me and it will be a glorious thing to see him bought so low.

Christopher Marlowe is concerned- for Norfolk had moved far quicker and had clearly laid his plans far deeper than any had thought for he had clearly been building up a base of power and support and moreover had managed to stage the play several times and to several different audiences. Enough so that the players troupe had started seeing past the gold that would pay off their debts and begun to ask questions.

"I do not like any of this" the lead actor was saying to him in an undertone. "They tell us it is naught but a play but why do so many nobles and rich men congregate in the audience and mutter and plot? What is this Christopher?"

Marlowe makes his tone as nonchalant as he can when he replies. "Nothing for the likes of you or I to question, Robert for it will cause nothing but trouble. Take the money, bow and ask no further. But…" he makes his pause sound as natural as possible "I confess I am worried myself that my play is being taken as more than a fancy of Camelot and is instead being used as somewhat else by the great men of the realm."

"Do you mean what I believe I am hearing? That this is supporting" Robert looks around and lowers his voice even further "that we are being used to support treason and rebellion and the return of popery and war?" His tone is horrified for Robert, for all his somewhat flexible morals in other ways is an extremely fervent advocate of the new religion. "I will not have it, I will have the troupe leave…."

Christopher stops him, firmly and decidedly. "Don't. Don't even think of it. If you leave you will not make it out of here alive, do you hear. Norfolk thinks nothing of the likes of you or I and he will have you knifed as soon as he thinks you might threaten him. No, keep playing your part but keep your eyes open - the more you learn the more you will be able to plan to get out of this with your head intact."

Robert nods, still looking terrified but he is doing a better job of concealing it than Christopher might have imagined - considering that his performance skills do not always translate to the Robert that lives off the stage. But he supposes that terror will often sharpen such things.

"I will, if you will listen to me and tender your advice my friend?"

As this is what Christopher has been wishing him to do (for he cannot be everywhere and the actors see far more than their betters think) he agrees readily and lets the other man leave with a feeling of accomplishment. But there is still the matter of how to untangle this mess and that, that he will leave to the greater men of the realm.

And it is a mess - the rebel army has taken and sacked several towns and is making its way steadily towards London and thus the danger has become so great that it has come to this. Henry will have to have the children sent away to somewhere by the coast with a ship waiting to take them to France if the worst should happen. So Henry, Anne and Thomas say farewell to them, trying to be as calm as they can for them.

The two youngest children may not be aware of what is going on but they seem to know that they are being parted from their parents and both William and Margaret cry heart wrenchingly as a result. Indeed they only barely manage to prise William away from clinging to Henry's leg and Henry himself does not wish to let him go. But George, Tommy and Bess? They know. George goes willingly with his aunt but the look on his face is painful to behold. Tommy is solemn and too grown up - he vows that he will take care of his siblings while his Papas are gone but he is still only a little boy and Henry, Henry cannot bear it that he should have to be acting as grown man (Henry remembers being a child amongst rebellions and the terror of a parent leaving, perhaps never to return, remembers his mother being haunted by her own ghosts and trying to hide it and he had never thought it would come to his own children). Bess, Bess is so brave and strong but her hug for her him is tight and her 'I love you Papa' is delivered in a voice that he can hear the shakiness in.

Anne and Tom say their own goodbyes. Tom embraces each of his children (and they are all his children too, regardless of blood) and tells them he loves them and Anne, Anne does the same but she gathers them all together and whispers "I love you my darlings. I will always love you and I bid you never, ever forget it."

The three of them stand there together and watch the boat leave with the children and Henry feels as though half his heart has left with them and feels all the more the sting of his failure - he should have been harsher with Norfolk than he was, he should have seen the rebellion brewing in his kingdom sooner and because he did not his family is danger. I will not make those mistakes again Henry thinks, as he holds his loves in his arms. I will never hesitate again.


	15. Ready For A Fight

Princess Mary is making her way to her mother when the rebels find her. As it turns out it is Reginald Pole himself who escorts her with all the graces back to the manor that her father had gifted to her and Philip. The bodies of her guards, however belay that grace with the reality of her situation. She is a prisoner and she tells Pole that when he comes to her rooms - that she has nothing to say to him, but oh, he has things to say to her.

"Mary, come - surely you are not so adamant as to refuse me out of hand?"

Reginald Pole stopped for a moment and simply looked at her, a pleading expression on his face.

"Think of what good you and I could do as King and Queen - I would give you everything your mother has ever wanted for you, everything you have ever wanted - you could be Queen Mary, you could bring England back completely into the Church and the people will be saved. The people will love you."

And oh, Mary can see it. She can see how she could be Queen as her mother had wanted - she could restore her mother to the status she ought to be (surely the Pope would be persuaded if Mary drove out the settlement and restored the primacy of the Catholic church) and she could be the kind of Queen people needed. But...there is her family. She must have spoken aloud because Pole is speaking again.

"Your father, I will not lie to you Mary your father will have to be sacrificed but it is for the greater good and I promise you, by doing so you will save his soul"

(you do not know how much I would be saving his soul, Mary thinks for a moment, despite herself, out of reflex)

But her would be husband is still talking.

"Your brothers may have to go into the church but Mary, that will not be a bad thing - they will work towards the glory of the Lord. We can make sure your sisters have good marriages - they may be illegitimate but that does not mean they cannot be treated well. It is the same with their mother, for I am sure that the Lady Anne will do well enough in a dignified retirement to her estates in Pembroke."

He must have seen her stricken look for Pole reaches his hands towards her and Mary finds herself letting him clasp them.

"Mary, you will be saving their souls, though it might bring them worldly sadness it is for the best and in the end they will exalt you - it is the best and most loving thing you could do for them. Save them, Princess, save those you love with me."

And then, then Mary teeters. But it is not on the edge of giving in, it is not temptation. It is rage. How dare they presume to order me about once again, as though I am nothing but a doll for their amusement and how dare he think me so disloyal and changeable that I would betray my own father and my own family for pretty promises that mean nothing. No, I will have nothing of it, she thinks. She wants to tell Pole this, wants to rage at him for his presumptions but no, Mary Tudor is not the daughter of two royal lines for nothing. She will dissemble and play at giving in, she will rescue Philip, she will find her mother and then she will serve Reginald Pole's head to Norfolk on a platter.

For Mary Tudor is both her parents daughter. Indeed when the guards find both her and Philip gone, two horses gone from the stables and no trace of them to be found, she proves it once again. Reginald Pole can only vow that he will drag his would be wife back by the hair and will slay 'the man that calls himself her husband like I would a rabid dog' and set his men to search for the prize he has lost.

Henry Tudor is captured by a freak chance, no more than that. A freak chance and a traitor by the name of Thomas Culpepper who had been paid handsomely in gold to make sure that the Kings horse would be bought down. From that and a rainstorm was a king caught in a trap, Henry thinks as he sits in the cell he has been placed in and from there, he listens to Reginald Pole talking (which is an unfortunate thing, Henry thinks).

"I am a man of God returning the country and yourself, your majesty to the path of righteousness. The Lord shall understand what I have done. That is a greater calling than any earthly vows."

"I suppose then, making yourself King has nothing to do with any earthly ambitions?" Henry says and it seems Pole does not hear the sarcasm in his voice for the man merely nods.

"It does not. I am merely concerned with the spiritual salvation of this realm."

Henry looks around the cell he is in and wonders, so this is what Pole thinks of when he thinks to save souls? Does he truly believe he will be welcomed if he continues on this path or does that matter little to him? Looking at the man Henry decides it is neither - Reginald Pole is stunningly ambitious, believes the crown his due and is a true fanatic but he is also not an uncanny strategist - he has simply weighed the odds that his power base and marriage to Mary will outweigh the popular revulsion that his actions will engender - after all, the throne will be held by those of royal blood and however unpopular Pole may have made himself he still has backing from powerful men, men who can hold up his stolen crown.

"And oh, your majesty? I have the base born churl you call a Duke in my possession as well. Be assured, his end will not be a gentle one."

It is Poles last words that bring Henry to his feet, face twisted with anger (and with fear, fear for his raven who has been through so much) but he is brought up short by the chains that have secured him and he can do nothing but struggle uselessly against his bonds.


	16. My Mothers Daughter

Mary has never seen her mother so furious, not even during the days of Bessie Blount (then, then Katherine of Aragon had been a warrior and every inch the Queen during the long years of separation, of the fight against the annulment. She had never faltered, not even when her father had parted her from Mary. Mary had not seen her when the pope approved the annulment but she had heard tell that though her mother had broken she had never shattered, never stopped fighting for Mary to be loved by her father) not even during the time after that and before Anne, when they had both been forgotten by her father. But now, now her mother was almost terrifying if Mary had not shared her anger.

They have made their way to London alongside her husband (who is suffering the effects of having been imprisoned and is confined to his bed the moment they make it to Whitehall) but so have envoys of Reginald Pole ("how dare he" her mother had blazed. "How dare he think to challenge the lords anointed and how dare he endanger his family and the country of his birth in this way") and they wish to present their demands. Anne and her mother had talked together privately, at ease with each other in a way that Mary has always wondered at (they always have been, despite their differences in religion) but she sees them now and thinks there is a great deal of similarity between them. They are both Great Queens, Mary thinks, that is what it is.

"Mary, I wish you would go where it is safe but if you will not, please, stay here and make sure the centre holds, my darling. I am so proud of you."

"We both are" Anne says almost hesitantly and Mary, Mary embraces her impulsively, heedless of anything else. She is my mother too, the princess realises suddenly. She always has been and I will never forget that again.

"What will you do Anne?" she finds herself asking.

"Firstly, I will hear these envoys out and then, then we will see."

They meet them in the throne room, with the full majesty of the three women. The men who meet them seem under their bravado to be terrified but they make a good show of being unintimidated and after an icy exchange of courtesy they present their demands.

"That you, my lady…."

"She is your Queen and you will address her as such"

Mary's mother's voice is icily regal into the silence and the man stutters as he goes on

"That the the...the Queen will give up her rights and that of her children to such royal titles as they were made in a church other than the one true holy church. That his majesty King Henry will also give over his royal crown to his daughter Mary who shall wed Lord Reginald Pole and then make him King. That the male offspring of Queen Anne shall be sent into the church so they shall not forment rebellions and her daughters to be made wards of the crown. "

"I see." Anne says. "I would that you depart my lords, so I might consider my answer to these extraordinary requests for surely you must see that they are weighty indeed. " She dismisses them with a wave of her hand and they leave, looking entirely put out at being so relegated but Mary pays them no more mind as the doors close for there is something dreadful in her heart as she sees what Anne has seen. Her brother George has returned and his face is set. When Anne returns with the news that her husband is captured alongside Thomas Cromwell she still does not falter. None of them do. None of them can afford to.

"The one advantage I can give you Anne is that Pole has overreached himself and he does not know that we know of it nor that we know where they are being held now. More than that he wishes to talk with you directly, sister and I think he will spring this news upon you to overset you."

"What about Norfolk?" Katherine of Aragon asks.

"Your Grace, I believe that he does not know of this news for Pole is keeping it to himself - indeed it may be that he wishes to dispense with the need for his grace with this bargaining chip and thus is content to let Norfolk continue as he has. Moreover," and here George Boleyn does smile "I believe Norfolk is having a great deal of trouble moving his men - someone seems to have spiked the food and they have come down with flux."

Mary feels a surge of vicious satisfaction that she cannot find it in herself to repent of.

"Then we have an opening indeed" Anne says and Katherine nods her assent. "I would have you, Katherine, lead troops to deal with Norfolk for I can think of no one better to rouse the North against him. George, if you would stay with Mary for I know I can trust you to keep her safe from harm - make sure that Philip is informed as well when he awakens and that London is secured."

"What will you do?" Mary finds herself asking again in the end, after Anne has dismissed her brother and has commanded a message be sent to her father and to Charles Brandon to meet the army that Katherine is bringing to bear before settling herself into her chambers just long enough to change into a travelling gown and to demand that horses be prepared.

Anne smiles and it is not a pleasant smile. "Why, I will give Reginald Pole what he wishes to see - a mere woman who will defer to his wisdom and greater experience. And then we will rescue those we love and we will destroy them. This I swear to you Mary."

Mary can see now that both her mothers can lead armies. She leaves and she does not see Anne fall to the ground for moment in utter despair at the other news that George has bought her before the Queen rises up with her mask intact. I cannot afford to be anything less than a Queen, Anne thinks to herself - for the sake of my country and all those I love, especially those I love most in the world.


	17. I Yield My Heart (I Ask No Other Grace)

After. After. After. Henry hardly remembers much of the moments after he heard what they would do to Thomas. How they would bring him in front of a jeering crowd as though he was nothing. As though he was a traitor. How they would make him scream in front the world and let the birds have his head. Henry, Henry wonders that the world does not stop, that his body yet breathes and moves and his heart yet beats. Perhaps at the moment that Thomas' stops, so will Henry's. So will Anne's. But then, then he thinks of their children. Thinks of Thomas saying with a wry smile that no, no love, you will live without me as you have much to live for. But, Henry thinks, you are one of the pillars upon which my world is built and without you the world is all askew.

There is a guard who is kinder than the others, a guard who when Henry asks if he could not spend the last night his friend will have on this earth with him, to give him what comfort he could for surely they would not deny even the lowliest prisoner such a grace (it burns Henry, that he must ask but he would beg on his knees for this), agrees to it with an almost knowing expression in his eyes.

"Do it" he says to his fellows adding that he will take responsibility for any censure that might follow "there is no way to escape and the Lord knows even the most wretched sinner is entitled to say his goodbyes"

They let him in and leave them alone and oh, oh Henry looks at Thomas. Thomas who has so many scars. Thomas who will face a horrible death with the morning light because he only sought to serve Henry. Thomas who has faced so much and what, what I have given him, Henry thinks - what bitter gifts do I possess that those I love will suffer and die and I will live? And some of it must have shown in his face because Thomas (who is not chained, not now but still bears the abrasions on his wrists from the manacles) walks towards him and looks into his eyes, heedless of any eyes upon them.

"I will never, never regret loving you Henry" Thomas says fiercely, urgently. "I would not trade this life or this end for any other in the world because I have lived it with you and with Anne. Do not mistake me," he says, not bothering to hide the tears in his eyes or the shaking in his voice, for they are beyond such things now "I am terrified almost beyond reason and I would do anything to escape this, to live, to grow old with you and our Anne, to see our children grow and hold our grandchildren"

"But Henry, Henry, listen to me" he says urgently and his ravens hands are in Henry's "listen to me and remember, please, you are not the cause of this. But, if you wish it, I forgive you regardless for you have given me grace."

They hold each other and Henry, Henry thinks perhaps he is stone for he cannot let go. He cannot. His loves hand is warm, still tanned from the summer sun. Henry has counted the scars, has traced the veins of those hands and it cannot be that they will be gone. It cannot be that the chest he has kissed, has embraced, that has leaned against his own will be so destroyed.

It cannot be, says Henry's mind. Not this, not this most precious jewel of my life and my heart. It cannot be shattered, he thinks even as he knows it will be. Knows that whatever Thomas says, he, Henry is the one who has led his raven to this.

And yet, yet the Lord forgive him but Henry cannot wish they had not met, cannot wish they did not have their love even as a part of him howls and wants to, wants to cut it out of him entirely that the pain might be gone. That he might not have to think of what will happen soon.

They stand there for a time, hand in hand, Thomas leaning into Henry's embrace and Henry tries to imbue it with all of his love, tries to give him any power he has to spare him the pain.

"Don't...Harry, love, please. Spare yourself and do not watch what will happen tomorrow." and here, Thomas truly begins to shake. "I want it at least to be said that I met my end well and I do not think I could bear it, knowing that it would cause you pain to watch."

"You should never have to bear it. Never. I will...I would stay with you to the end, Tom but I will not watch if it will give you peace."

Henry is lying. He will watch it. He will watch every moment of it because it is the last thing he can give his love, to see where his devotion has bought him but if it eases Thomas' heart to think that he will not then he will ease it.

They are both simply holding each other now, almost whispering devotions to each other on this last night unobserved by any and trying to hold on to it.

"I have, I have a letter for our children and for Anne" Thomas says, finally. They have promised that they will see it delivered but will...will you see to it that if it is not that you tell them of my love?"

"Always. Always." Henry says and then then he kisses his raven fiercely, trying to memorise the lines of his face, the way his lips feel against his own. The feel of soft dark curls against his fingers.

"I yield my heart and my soul to you and to her majesty oh gracious king and I ask no other grace but that of our children and of the Lord." Thomas says with a sad smile that is full of love.

"You will have it for all the days of my life and the next, my raven."

They lay together then, gently and kindly and after ward they simply share their bed and talk of nothing but love and the shape of each others stories - trying to fill what should have been a lifetime in a night for they shall not see each other again until the world thereafter.

Henry knows, he knows as a certainty that he will see Thomas again in paradise and peace but it is no easier thing to think he must go and go to such an end.


	18. Holy Water (Cannot Help You Now)

Anne dresses for her meeting with Pole with as much care as she has anything in her life, knowing that it might be one of the most important things she has ever done (the lives of the people she loves most in the world are hanging upon it). And Anne has always understood the importance of fashion in matters of state. So she dresses simply, as she has not for many years - a pale blue gown with few adornments, a simple coif for her hair and no jewels but her crucifix. She hopes to give Pole what he wishes to see - a penitent woman who will submit to the wishes of her betters, having realised her error in thinking she could aspire to a higher estate who now only wishes to ensure the safety of her children. It might have hurt her pride to do so, in another situation but Anne cannot afford to consider her pride so she puts it aside - there are more important things after all and if this scheme succeeds then it is Pole who will be humbled. If it does not, Anne thinks grimly, I will devote the rest of my life to my children and my revenge.

They are to meet in neutral ground - surrounded by guards on both sides so there is no possibility of abduction on the part of either side and Anne finds herself strangely calm as she rides to to the meeting place - or perhaps not so strangely, she thinks - I have no other choice but to be all the Queen I can for anything else will doom those I love.

She makes herself curtsy to Pole, though it smarts to do so Anne knows that she must give him the impression of a humbled woman and murmurs "Lord Pole, you do me great favour in agreeing to this meeting and I thank you" even as she imagines running him through with his own sword.

"I am glad Lady Anne, that you have seen the value of gratitude and humility."

Anne only grits her teeth inside her head but does not let any hint of it show on the outside. Instead she keeps her eyes lowered and makes sure to let Pole see that she is all repentance and says. "My lord - I thank you for bringing me back to the one true Church and to an awareness of my sins for I know now that my marriage to the King was no true marriage, as much as it pains me. All I wish for is for peace and safety for my children your grace - I will not ask for the King for I know I have no right to him, being not my true husband."

(Not my true husband because he is not my true and only husband but one of them Anne thinks)

When Pole bids her raise her head she sees that oh, he has been taken in indeed. In fact, his smug expression makes her gorge rise but she determinedly keeps it out of her expression as he takes her by the arms.

"Truly, truly I am fortunate to have bought a penitent sinner back to the fold as the Lord brought other fallen women. I promise you my lady, your children will be safe - I will see your sons serve in the church for the glory of the lord and your daughters will be married well. And you yourself?"

Anne expects to hear that she is to go into a nunnery herself but instead Pole beams at her at her that she is to be given "a most fortunate and true marriage to my Lord Northumberland" and oh, oh she could strangle Percy herself Anne thinks. Percy who had made calf eyes at her in France and nothing more. Percy who still thought himself in love with her. She makes herself say "that is far too good for me my Lord and it says much of your kindness and mercy" and is rewarded with another smug Pole look.

"My Lord Percy has made Alnwick ready for you, Lady Anne and he assures me you shall have every comfort for he believes our unfortunate King has led you into sin by subtle force and I have no doubt that is true for you are, after all, but a woman who merely wished to obey her betters." He smiles again. "But I can see that you have seen your true betters now and I am truly glad for it - for you shall have legitimate children and a proper place."

"Thank you my Lord" Anne says. I hope you die slowly, is what she thinks inside but there is no hint of that in her tone. "Will my other children….?"

"I am afraid my lady, you will not be permitted to see them again. It is best that way, you see for they are reminders of your sins. Instead they shall be raised in the church in the case of your sons and by most noble households in the case of your daughters - who shall be brought up to be good and humble ladies with an awareness of their station in life."

So you will give them to families who will shame them every day or to monasteries who will do the same and will likely allow them to perish of neglect Anne thinks and she, at that moment has never wished more for her husbands power to send people to the tower.

"Of course, I understand it is for the best."

Pole is clearly well satisfied with her answer for he smiles widely and asks if she wishes to dine with him so that they 'might make sure that all is clear for you' and when she agrees ('if my Lord thinks it is proper') he beams even more and asks for food and wine to be brought. It is during this meal that Anne takes the time to further gather intelligence and to cheerfully lie to Pole as much as possible (oh yes, her children are in the country at her childhood home, yes, the Princess Mary has returned to her mother's house as far as Anne knows, no his majesty has told me nothing of his strategy for I am merely a woman) before she dares to enquire after "his most gracious majesty, though I know I have no right he is the father of my children and naturally I am concerned for him"

"He is kept in all the comfort due his station, I assure you. Unlike the King I know how to treat those of high estate and how to treat those who dare to reach higher than I should. Indeed, forgive me gentle lady, but I must give his majesty a lesson in the latter for the son of a smith that he dared to raise to a Duke shall receive his just desserts tomorrow and I intend that his majesty should see it and be suitably chastened, as I trust he will be."

I am going to have you die screaming, Anne thinks and then, then Poles guards turn on hers (she had expected this, had told them to simply surrender and they do) and he turns to her apologetically and says that he is sorry, but he has promised Lord Percy he would have her safely taken from the den of iniquity that was London and delivered to his side. It was in the same town that Henry and Thomas Cromwell are being held (though Pole does not know that she knows this) and Anne, Anne is viciously triumphant as she lets herself be led to a litter.


	19. You Will Be Found (Tonight)

Henry Percy hardly has his mind on anything but the arrival of his Anne. She has always been his Anne, ever since he had first met her in France and he has loved her ever since - he would have asked for her hand if he had not been forced to marry his shrew of a former wife. And if Anne had not been forced into a union with a cruel King. But he, he will be a true knight for her, Percy thinks. He can see it in his mind - a beautiful wife who will be an ornament to his home - sweet, demure, gentle and lovely in his bed. He can imagine their children, a few boys and a beautiful little girl who is the image of her mother. Indeed he has finally ordered a nursery constructed at Alnwick alongside the renovation of his chambers for now he will have a wife he wishes to reside there.

He thinks of everything but what Anne might actually wish.

Marlowe has proved an extremely useful agent - both as a writer and as an agent among the town and the actors and Norfolk thinks that after this is over he may offer him the same role as the late lamented Earl of Norwich - it will be even more convenient because Marlowe as a playwright can move in many circles unobtrusively - from the nobles who might commission him to the common folk. And at this moment Norfolk needs his best agent to both find out Reginald Poles doings (there has been a disturbing lack of news from the man of late) and to inform him of what has taken place and what they should undertake to do next - for he knows that he cannot hold this town alone for forever and he certainly cannot stay here forever - no matter the strength of their position.

"The last I have heard, your Grace was that the Princess Mary was held securely and that Lord Pole had surrounded London but I cannot speak to the truth of these tidings - for you know that news has been hard to gather of late."

Marlowe can see Norfolk glare and smiles to himself inside his head - for indeed his messengers had been most inconvenienced by all kinds of obstacles and the unofficial blockade that Norfolk had organised had complicated things further.

"Nevertheless, I trust your judgement in this regard Marlowe. What news of any armies?"

"Still tied up in the north or protecting London, according to the boatmen. I know that they plan to march towards us but it will take some time, especially if they must go by the roads. But if you wish I can come back via the northern route and bring what news I can?"

Norfolk grants permission with a wave of his hand.

"Do it. But send me news promptly - I will give you the funds to ensure a messenger will be swift and you may promise him more upon delivery of the news. And Marlowe? When we have settled matters I shall be sure to reward such loyalty as you have given me "

Marlowe bows respectfully and mutters some words about how he knows the value of loyalty to and respect for his betters who have given him a great deal and Norfolk nods smugly in satisfaction. It is easy enough to fool him Marlowe thinks, though he is not in any way a stupid man his pride has blinded him to how little he or his cause is liked and more than that how much the common people will thwart him.

He leaves and an army - one led by the Duchess of Derby (who has roused the north behind her) is slowly and carefully converging on the city - hiding themselves from any watchers (there are not many - between the sabotage and the weather Norfolk has found himself cut off almost entirely). He leaves, heading towards the town in which Pole has placed himself and his prisoners.

When Anne arrives, it is late in the night and she is exhausted but she spots a certain man in a brown cloak and smiles - so her letter had gotten to its intended destination after all and that is all to the good. She may yet manage this, she thinks as she is helped down from the litter and into the courtyard to face Henry Percy.

Henry Percy meets Anne and is not disappointed - she is beautifully, though simply dressed as befitting her newly understood status (Percy vows that will change - she is to be a true wife and a duchess soon and he will give her better) but she still just as a beautiful as he remembered - perhaps even more so for time has deepened it. He holds his hand out for her and is pleased to note her demure curtsy and lowered eyes for he can see that this will be a loving wife to him.

For her part Anne is not at all impressed with Henry Percy but she hides it behind lowered eyes and a feigned modesty that allows her to look at him as little as possible as he talks at her of all the plans he has for their new lives together "once we have ordered the kingdom as it should, my darling" and of how much he has longed for her these past years. It is over dinner that one of his men comes to him with the news that they will need more funds "for the local guard is nowhere to be seen, my lord and those who remain who can be employed are demanding a great deal of compensation" and Pole turns to her.

"Forgive us my lady for this distasteful subject but alas, it must be done to cleanse the realm of heresy and so I would advise you to avoid the courtyard upon the morrow - for though it is a blessing that the heretic Cromwell shall depart this earth it shall not be a pleasant scene"

Anne bows her head to hide the blazing hatred in her eyes that they should talk about her Thomas in this way but manages to choke out that of course, she shall not venture to look at such a thing. Percy takes it for somewhat else and touches her hand in a way that makes her skin crawl.

"Your gentle heart does you credit my darling but you should not think on such things - the heretic must die for his pretensions and soon that monster who calls himself your husband shall be gone and things can be as they should be - for Lord Pole has offered to bless our marriage as soon as it can be done. "

He looks at her adoringly and Anne makes herself look back with a look of gratitude and thank him for being so kind to her before he suggests that, perhaps she would retire to the rooms that have been prepared for her for the night. Anne allows herself to be steered to them by the ladies that have been sent to attend her, allows them to brush her hair out and wash off the dirt of the road before dressing her in a nightgown and settling her into bed - there are two ladies sleeping at the foot of her bed and another by the locked door.

But they do not know this castle as Anne does - it had been one of the ones they had recently had restored - particularly in the addition of a passage between these chambers and another set of rooms. Rooms that at this moment, Anne knows to be empty and furthermore knows that these rooms have a set of stairs that lead to an outside entrance. It is this door that she opens for Christopher Marlowe, having crept out of bed after checking that the ladies set to watch her are thoroughly and deeply asleep and having taken the precaution of leaving a human shaped lump (constructed of spare pillows) in her bed. And then, then Anne makes herself return to bed though she cannot make herself sleep. Not now.

Marlowe, meanwhile has a grim smile upon his face as he and the guard captain look upon the sleeping men (they have been carefully plied with drink of a quality they are not used to and will not waken until noon most likely) who have been watching the prisoners - not that they had thought there was a need for a watch - after all the castle was entirely secured, the town was loyal (or at least sufficiently cowed) and no one knew exactly who or where the prisoners were that was not secured by the conspirators or loyal to them.

It surprises Marlowe that the captain knocks upon the cell door before he opens it but he understands, suddenly when he sees the King of England standing up before them - hiding a glimpse of Thomas Cromwell laying upon a bed and oh Marlowe thinks, what George let slip is true indeed.

"Forgive me Captain but I would that you would keep this brief for…." and here the King stopped and Marlowe can hear the emotion in his voice that the other man is trying to suppress and not entirely succeeding.

"I know your majesty but, believe me - you will wish to meet this man" the Captain says, gesturing at Marlowe who bows low.

"This is Christopher Marlowe, a man I believe you know somewhat of" and at that the King seems almost to come to life. He turns to Marlowe with an intense expression and a question in his eyes.

"Yes your majesty I come from George Boleyn and from Her Majesty by way of Norfolk who believes that I am his faithful agent. "

"And of course, you are not for a more loyal agent of the crown I have never seen" It is Thomas Cromwell who speaks, having walked up to stand beside the King who has to restrain himself from touching the man. Cromwell gives the King a soft smile then and oh, oh Marlowe can see why a King and a Queen love him so dearly and why George had been so enamoured. "We have not met but I have certainly had dealings with him, your majesty and a more trustworthy man cannot be imagined. I take it this is a rescue?"

"It is indeed, your grace, your majesty. It has been planned by her majesty - who will join you shortly."

"Anne is here?" Henry says and Marlowe can see Cromwell only just manages to stop himself from saying the same thing.

"She is but forgive me, your majesty there is no time to explain just now - for we must go in haste - for there is an army awaiting you both. "

No one discovers that the prisoners are missing for a long time for not only have the cell doors been relocked the execution has been delayed for several more hours as it turns out the scaffold has collapsed and must be repaired before anything can be thought of. Pole tells himself that a delay cannot matter - indeed perhaps it may bring Cromwell to more of a sense of his own crimes and perhaps even the King will recognise his folly and voluntarily give up his crown and retire into the church - it would please Mary's soft heart Pole thinks, that I was merciful to her father in this way. His smile lasts until a horrified servant comes to inform him that his prisoners have, once again, disappeared.

It goes completely when he walks out to army surrounding him, his men having deserted him and his dreams turning to ash in his mouth and all the fight goes from him as he is captured still wondering what had gone wrong. He does not see Queen Anne's smile of triumph from her rooms as she hears of the surrender. Nor does anyone stop the Queen from commandeering a horse and riding through the town to find her loves.

Henry Percy arrives to visit her and is found weeping and clinging to her bed linens when the soldiers burst in upon him.


	20. Rewrite The Stars (The World Is Ours)

The Duke of Norfolk is a different matter entirely - surrounded by the army that the Duchess of Derby has bought he is determined to go down fighting and indeed he does. He is captured outside the gate and bought before the Duchess where he merely spits "you of all people should understand why I have done what I have done" at her and refuses to say anything more, instead sitting stony faced in his bonds as arrangements are made to return him to London and Katherine of Aragon, Katherine of Aragon almost wishes she could spit at his feet for does he not know that by his ambition the man has further damaged the Catholic Church? That he has endangered Mary and nearly torn the country apart in civil war when there has been peace for so long? No, it is better that she does not speak to him. It is beneath her dignity to do so.

Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, dies of his wounds on the way to London. A thorough search of his papers has been undertaken but there are not many, for Norfolk was too canny to hold onto any that might prove damning in any way and what there are of no account so Henry reluctantly orders that Norfolk be buried at Arundel but not in a grave of any honour so as to avoid further scandal and for the sake of his son, who has been unfailingly loyal to the crown and had even offered to give up the Dukedom of Norfolk if Henry had so wished.

But that was later. When Anne, Thomas and Henry are reunited they fall into each others arms, heedless of who might be watching (as it turns out, no one does) and none of them feel they can let go of each other. Not after they nearly lost each other. They hold each other all through the wait for a carriage and all through the journey back to London. In the end they fall into a bed together, clinging as though they are fixed to each other. It is Henry who says, "we are home, my own loves" with a shaky relief in his voice as he kisses his Queen and their love in turn.

"We are home" Thomas Cromwell echoes, wonder in his voice. "There remains only one thing to complete it."

They meet the children the next day. Bess and Tommy run to them - heedless of any protocol and throw their arms around their parents while George wriggles out of his aunts arms and attaches himself to Henry while Thomas holds William and Anne holds Margaret, tears in her eyes. At least Margaret will not remember this, Henry thinks - it will only be a story for her and for William even if the older children will remember it. Henry is determined though that such as this will never happen again, not for the world. And that means that he will deal with Reginald Pole and Henry Percy. Once and for all.

Reginald Pole might be lodged in some comfort within the tower but it is still the tower. And Pole knows what will happen next. Knows that he has gambled and lost but he cannot understand it! Surely the Lord should have favoured his enterprise for he was merely undertaking it to return the Holy Church to the place it should occupy. He was only seeking to restore the rightful order of things that had been upended by a king who had been swayed by evil counsels to become heedless of such things. And yet, he had been deserted! He could not understand it...unless the Lord was testing him or perhaps, the Lord sought to make of him a martyr so that others might follow his example to restore the Church. Pole can own that he does not wish to be a martyr but if it is what the Lord wills then he is not one to argue with His will.

Reginald Pole smiles to himself. For his death shall awaken the conscience of the Princess Mary and the Catholic Princes of Europe and they shall continue his rising and carry it to its triumph and thus he will be immortal throughout time and further, shall rise to heaven in glory. His earlier despair is entirely gone for he is sure that all shall be well and his mission will carry on.

Henry Percy however is utterly bereft. He has lost his Anne again, lost her to sin and to that tyrant and all his dreams are gone. He faints and has to be revived during his trial and is dragged away on pronouncement of the sentence without a word passing his lips. While Pole stands and rants defiantly about the godlessness of the so called king of this realm (to widespread derision) Percy simply wilts. While Pole refuses to recognise the sentence and must be dragged away by the guards, Percy has to be carried for he cannot make his feet carry him.

Both of them are sentenced to death by beheading. Percy loses his title - it is instead given to a capable up and coming courtier by the name of John Dudley and Reginald Pole makes a last appeal to the allies he has made in Rome that he might have clemency in the form of exile - for even his family has deserted him (he cannot understand why they would not stand by him - was he not doing what was best for Mary and the Dowager Princess - though his mother and siblings have been pleading with him for years to desist). No answer is returned. He is however, given the privilege of a private execution with a skilled headsman - as is Percy.

Henry Percy's last words are that 'I did for the love of my Lady Anne to free her from a tyrant" and Pole's "I die a martyr for the true faith and the true church"

King Henrys greatest emotion is relief that the rebellion is over. Many of the rebels are pardoned, though the nobles involved are fined heavily enough that they will not have the funds to even think of rebellion again and several are forced to retreat to their estates - not having the funds to support themselves in court. And with that, the kingdom slowly begins to return to normality. To peace.

The masque has been months in the making and Henry has spared no expense for it - from the lanterns that hang in the gardens, to the grand feast, to the masque itself which has a castle surrounded by real trees and flowers as well as costumes for every member of the court. For Henry had wished to celebrate. And so Camelot has come to Hampton Court.

Anne had chosen not to go costumed as Guinevere but as Nimue, Lady of the Lake - the wise and gracious woman who had advised Arthur and ruled her own realm. She is a vision in silver and blue - her long hair loose under a veil. Henry is Arthur, of course but Thomas, Thomas is the surprise for Henry and Anne have persuaded him into the costume of a knight of the round table (he had refused a specific role, saying it was not for him however) and he looks extremely well.

Henry wants to kiss them both. Wants everyone at court to look, to see what is his and to envy him for he is the most blessed of kings. Anne, Anne cannot take her eyes off her king and her duke and can hardly suppress the urge to dance with them both, right here before the court. But they cannot, of course. Instead Henry escorts Anne into the masque alone. But she and Thomas do share a dance, in the roles they are playing for Henry and Anne have persuaded Thomas to dance and to surprise the court with his skill.

They end up in the gardens - there have been lanterns strung through the trees and the scents of flowers are in the air and Anne feels as though she has stepped onto some enchanted shore - perhaps Avalon itself and she is giddy with delight as she takes both of them by the hand.

"Dance with me, my loves" she says and they dance together, the three of them, by the light of the new stars.


End file.
